@MentalHealthPeers Helping You Tackle Freshman Year:
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Triple the Adventure

For many students their dorm room is the first place that they've lived outside of their home. At home you are probably used to a bit more space. You are also likely used to the flow and rhythm of your house and the people in it. Even if home sometimes felt chaotic, it was your familiar chaos.  

Leaving that familiarity can feel unsettling for many reasons. Moving into a triple (or if you are lucky a double!) can feel claustrophobic. Living with other people you don't really know yet can feel kind of intimidating. And with limited living space and little to no privacy, it can be hard to feel like you have a place to call your own,

It’s normal to feel excited, scared, and disappointed about your new living situation. But, there are ways to make your space into a comfortable, inviting place that you will call home. Check out these important tips!

  • Make your space your own. You may not have a lot of real estate in your room but own what you do have. Put up pictures of friends and family, posters of your favorite band, or a colorful tapestry...whatever makes you feel good. Surrounding yourself with the things that feel like you will help you to feel more comfortable.
 
  • Keep it organized. If your bed, desk, and closet are a chaotic mess, your small space will feel even smaller. Set a schedule to do a solid cleaning each week but also organize each night to make it easier to keep your space in check. Also, come up with a plan with your roommates on how to keep your overall space clean.
 
  • Find other spots on campus to study. You are going to have to balance different schedules of 2 or 3 different people in your room. That means that you all will likely be studying, trying to relax, talking to folks from home, or hanging with friends in the room on different timelines. So, even though you might like to study in your room you will also need to find alternatives for when your room is not the best place to get your studying groove on. 

  • Find other spots on campus that feel cozy/relaxing. Your room is one place to relax but to expand your repertiore check out other places that you can go to lounge and relax around campus. Maybe its the couches at the SRB, the balcony overlooking the lagoon, or a corner of the library.  Find your comfort zones.

Roommates: A love/hate relationship

When nearly 4,500 incoming freshman from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds converge to live in a common space what can happen? Lots of long-lasting friendships to be formed and fun to be had. But putting all of these folks with different personalities, different habits, and different values in the same living space can also bring about disagreements and conflict. Learning effective ways to communicate with your roommates, share common living spaces, and live peacefully in a new home together is important to your health.

Learn more about how to effectively make your living space a healthy one by checking out our page on living with roommates!