Welcome to the Jungle
In the animal kingdom, you never know what to expect. Wasps, hounds, and cobras skulking around, everyone bright-eyed and exhilarated to enter their respective sanctuaries. A blur of acquaintances and allies, ring leaders, loud nights and louder days; welcome to first-year halls!
Is it dramatic to compare dorms to the animal kingdom? Perhaps. But just like you, I’ve been there and can’t help but find an abnormal amount of similarities between the two.
You see, dorm room diplomacy is arguably more complicated than any political battle you’ve ever witnessed. After all, when all the candidates are 17-18 years olds, what do you expect? So, here’s what you need to know about your first year at halls, from the uncharted territory of shared showers to the art of awkward icebreakers.
The Ring Leaders
Being new to the kingdom, you will need to find your leader. Usually, they stand out from the rest, usually in a labelled shirt (and occasionally a pompous attitude): find your resident advisors. They will be your point of contact for anything, from wanting to use their card to save money on printouts to complaining about the suspicious smell in the common rooms. While I use the term leader, you can very well foster a friendship with them too, which can come in really handy when you accidentally knock a hole in your bedroom door and get away with not paying for it. It may be the animal kingdom, but I promise, they don’t bite.
Acquaintances, Allies Mating and Dating
We were quite literally born to socialise. But trust me, nothing is easier and more complicated than finding your people surrounded by hundreds of teenagers who are also trying to do the same. So, here’s what you need to know: you don’t need to be everyone’s bestmate—but you do need to find ways to live in harmony. Among 300 students, you’ll probably find a bit of you in 5 of them. As for the other 295, learn to co-exist. Don’t get too angry at your neighbour when you realise that they accidentally slammed their door shut at 4am and woke you up; accept the constant smell of instant noodles and understand that you will never have a moment of peace—and it’s kind of amazing. And who knows? You might even find the love of your life, or hear someone else find theirs through the very, very thin bedroom walls.
The Sanctuary
In an unfamiliar territory, you need to find your sanctuary. Usually labelled with your name at the front, there is no place you will learn to treasure than your bedroom. I’d recommend going by the three P’s I just made up; pristine, personalised and people-friendly. Keeping your room clean (and I can hear my friends cackling at the irony of me preaching cleanliness) is something I’d highly recommend. Making your room yours is key, not just because it makes an unfamiliar place feel like home, but because adding your personal touch can help spark conversations with your floormates (shoutout to the person who had a whole surfboard in his bedroom). Being people-friendly is important. At the beginning of the year, I’d highly suggest saying goodbye to personal space and keeping your door open for anyone that wants to introduce themselves. Easier said than done, I know, but I’m sitting here writing this next to the person I met on move-in day, so I promise it’s worth it.
The Watering Hole
The watering hole is your opportunity to scope out everyone at halls, instead of just the people on your floor. Filled with food, friends and familiar faces, the dining hall is something you should not underestimate. This is your opportunity to spark up a conversation with someone while waiting in line to get food, or bond with a stranger about how the mocha is mostly just water. After the first month, packs begin to form. Once everyone gets comfortable in their groups, they tend to stick together for the rest of the year, as will you. Month one is your opportunity to shove that imposter syndrome into the closet and be the most sociable version of yourself you can be. The dining hall also hosts several events—from sip and paint nights (technically, it’s juice, but we decided to drink wine from water bottles instead) to fashion shows. Tip: Engage in everything you possibly can.
You might be a virgin and still end up with someone else’s underwear in your laundry basket. You might catch someone stealing your food from the fridge and snitch on them on your confessions page. Maybe you’ll make eye contact with someone on the first day and never see them again, or maybe they’ll turn out to be the maid of honour at your wedding.
Either way, you’re in for a ride!
Welcome to the jungle, newbies.
