The Sophian

Issue date: 11/19/09 Section: Opinions

Yes, I am lucky to have a single. But then again, maybe I am missing that special part of college life not possible in any other form of interaction or maybe I am experiencing so much diversity that going back to the solitude of my room is a delightful retreat.

Smith ranks as one of the colleges with the best dorms, yet it wouldn't be hard to find people who hate their rooms. The college does try hard to place individuals in the rooms and the houses of their choice, yet every year it must process students' requests to change houses or rooms. The location and the layout of a room aren't much of the problem. I could give tons of reasons why I like my room, but what really matters beneath it all is that I love my room because it is more mine.

Jet-lagged after 18 hours of flight, I entered my room with my self, my country and my dear ones stuffed in my 40 kgs - odd, huh? Its high time America started using the SI system - of baggage. One by one, items pop out of my bag and fill specific spots in the room: photos, alarm clock, clothes, shampoo, bits of scribbled-on paper that serve as mementos of classroom pranks back home, my favorite books, a soft toy my dad would not have let me bring had he known about it, wall hangings and other knickknacks. International students really have limited options for what to bring, but I made sure to bring all the room décor I wanted, at the expense of leaving behind basic necessities like good running shoes and an umbrella. Why? Because I knew I had a single and I wanted it to truly be my home away from home.

As a newbie, your room is the first thing to which you want to adjust. Amidst the unfamiliarity, you try to carve out in your room a niche for yourself. Carrying all that stuff from home isn't in vain after all. Your room becomes an array of things you like presented in a way that is meaningful to you. You surround yourself with ideas that conform with you, making you confident and, in a way, helping you realize who you truly are. The familiarity of my room gives me solace and a silent motivation - the strength to keep going on. This must be an experience shared by many, if not all, first-years, from here and abroad - except those unhappy roommate pairs, with which I sympathize.

A big part of the roommate problem may be the anxiety created when two people of different identities nurtured by different social settings and family backgrounds attempt to set up a room together. Many of us, regardless of having lived in single or shared rooms before, find it hard to reconcile with being surrounded by things we cannot recognize or relate to. Some adjust easily to these differences and take it as a learning experience, while some find their growth hampered by a roomie with which they are incompatible. Juggling the stresses of a hectic life becomes worse when you cannot find solace even in your room - when the only place on campus that is yours is still not yours.

Continued...

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