Commuting, or dorming, whichever you do, you can’t deny having thought of doing the other for a change, if possible. Whether it’s missing the comfort of your bed at home, or longing for what life would be like living in the action, I am one to have experienced both. During my freshman year, I commuted and I just began dorming this year. The differences are undeniable, however, the pros and cons stripped away to make the other side seem more fun or more boring. 

Throughout my freshman year, I consistently had Fridays off. So, I would be home Thursday nights and back Monday mornings. Commuting from Queens isn’t terrible, it was usually a 30-45 minute drive and about an hour during rush hour. As tiring as it was, crossing the bridge made it feel even more exhausting. A friend who goes to LIU talks about her commute being 45 minutes, and how it doesn’t feel long. She believes it’s because there’s no bridge for her, and I agree. We don’t cross bridges in our everyday lives, and most of us associate them with long trips. This doesn’t even account for students who live in the middle of the country- where there are no bodies of water to be crossed, having the idea of bridges be foreign to them.

Another pain was online classes. At the beginning of the spring semester, I didn’t have headphones for my one-and-a-half-hour online history class. I went to the library, hoping to find an empty area so I wouldn’t disturb anyone. It was later then a mix of doing this class in the library or in different spots in Kessel. Kessel was where I spent most of my time working. I’m not sure why I never went to the library, and still don’t, but nevertheless, I would sit for 4-5 hours just working there. I felt like a blockage for the staff who had to wait for me to move to clean the tables. Having no personal space on campus made me feel like I didn’t belong. It made me disconnected from my peers and the institution. 

That feeling was accounted for, as soon as I would go home and see my family daily, and get to sleep in my bed. It has always been well known that I struggle with sleeping in places that aren’t my bed. The fear of being vulnerable in an unfamiliar place keeps me up along with being slightly uncomfortable on either a too-hard pillow or too thin sheets. On vacation, by the time we left the hotel, I would have just adjusted to the bed to sleep well. The only instance where I was able to sleep well in a hotel was in Paris, for three nights, that bed was the most comfortable hotel bed I ever laid upon. The dorm bed was no exception to the others, I had trouble for a long time. I would be awake past 5 am on some hard nights. It could be the loud air conditioning, or maybe the rather hard mattresses, but not being in my own bed has made me miss home.

It makes me look forward to the weekends when I’ll have my bed for a night or two. Another thing I got at home that I don’t here is home-cooked meals. The warmth of the pasta and meat sauce, or the avgolemono (a Greek lemon-chicken soup), or the occasional grilled meat made when my grandpa comes to eat over, that is something I miss so much throughout the week. Now, settling for the spinach wrap with buffalo chicken, or rice with tofu, the cucumber-avocado rolls, since I don’t like fish, isn’t necessarily something to complain about, but coming from perfection, it’s hard to come by. 

But not all comes bad from the food, it has actually taught me how to cook (kind of). Making pasta, learning to salt the water, learning when the water is boiling, learning when to add the sauce, I feel like I’m growing up and that’s the great thing about dorming. I am enduring so much more now as someone living alone, and having to make my own choices and learn so much more about myself, it’s all just so much thrown at me, but I’m not complaining. Learning my workstyle, what I prefer with certain things if I’m more introverted or extroverted will help me shape myself into who I want to be. I feel more confident in myself and more mature. Along with that, I’m learning time management and responsibility balancing classes, relationships, and growth. 

Having both experiences, I might prefer dorming over commuting. I’m not so far from home, however, I can still be independent and grow. College can be scary, especially for those going out of state, even to another country, but its what you make of it that you’ll remember. Have fun, expand your horizons, and don’t forget to call your family and friends at least once or twice a week!