Reasons I left:

1 The roommate
I was paired up with a roomie who was messy and loved to jam out to opera music. I must admit I’m a bit of a neat freak and couldn’t handle coming back from a long day of lectures to find her clothes on the floor. The opera music started to get to me after I realized that’s all she listened to.

2 Res food
Res food was not always that great. I mean, how many times can you have chicken and rice for supper before you start feeling like a chicken in a rice paddy? Most days I just wanted to cook for myself but that wasn’t an option.

3 The seniors
I felt like there was this huge gap between us first years and the seniors. They always knew what was going on and looked too cool to chat to. I hated feeling inferior to them.

Reasons I wish I’d stayed:

1 The roommate
Although we had a few misunderstandings, I always had someone to talk to in the middle of the night, someone to eat with in the dining hall so I wouldn’t feel alone and a shoulder to cry on when I was feeling lonely.

2 Res food
In digs, you can’t just walk into the kitchen to find food ready to be eaten. Not only do you have to cook for yourself but you have to clean up as well. And if you’ve run out of money for food before the end of the month, then it’s two-minute noodles and bread till pay day.

3 Feeling inferior
It turns out that this whole hierarchy thing was all in my head. The seniors are actually a lot of fun to be around and they do give valid life lessons; after all, they’ve been in the system for longer and know all the tricks of the trade.

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