Image: Tyson Hall via WCUPA Residence Life and Housing
I was walking around campus with some friends when I made a big realization. It was pretty late, so we were all headed back to our dorms, but we ended up passing another one of my friends going the opposite direction. We talked for a little bit and when he asked where we were going, I told him we were “going home.” I immediately realized I didn’t mean to say home, because I meant my dorm, but my friend understood completely, and no one batted any eyes toward me. I looked around, shocked, pondering a question I hadn’t even thought I’d be asking: “Had my home really changed?”
Ever since I moved to college, I’ve been missing my home. I miss my family, my room and certainly my privacy. I feel like most first-years feel this way; we’re all entering a whole new stage of our lives, and everything about it feels weird. It shouldn’t necessarily feel normal though. The strangeness and uncomfortableness of it all is what makes it special. It’s a whole new environment, and everyone is just trying their best to make it the most normal.
So when I referred to my dorm as my “home,” that normalness started to set in, but I didn’t see it coming so soon. Not that I in any way hate my dorm, it just never struck me as a home when I first walked in. It was missing all the things I thought a home should have, like a kitchen, a bathroom, my own bedroom, even a living room.
I couldn’t believe that subconsciously I had told myself that my dorm room was now my home. I knew when I moved in that I’d be living in this dorm for quite a long time, but then it finally hit me how long I actually would be staying here. After much thought about this, I really got to thinking about what a home is. Is it the rooms that make it a home, or is it what you do with the space you have?
When I looked around and saw what I had done with the only space I had, I was disappointed. My self-called “home” felt the least bit homey, as my side of the room felt incredibly empty. There were barely any posters, it was messy and it didn’t represent me at all.
It looked nothing like my room back in my real home, so I knew I had to change my mindset about what a home is. At the end of the day, home is what you make it. It doesn’t matter how far away you are from your family; it’s where you stay and are appreciated. That is home to me. After my first few weeks at West Chester, I have felt very welcomed and finally feel ready to call my dorm “home.”
If I was going to really want to call this place home though, I knew I was going to have to embrace it, so I got to work. I ordered more posters, cleaned up my side and really turned it into a place that represented me.
I also started looking at the people in my building differently. All of us first-years are in this together. Although we may come from different towns and backgrounds, we’re all starting off in a new space, so we might as well make the most of the one we have collectively.
Instead of seeing just your dorm as a home, start seeing the whole building as your home. Your dorm is your room, the living room is the lounge on the first floor and your bathroom and kitchen are the communal ones. When you think of these rooms, they might not be what you expect, but it’s all you got so you might as well embrace it. We’re all sharing the same space, so there’s no reason to not treat it as best as possible.
While it’s normal to miss home, it’s best to not look at what lies behind you, but look to what’s right in front of you. There’s so much that lies ahead, and you need to know that you have a safe space. It’s best to have a place you can always go back to that you feel comfortable in, and this should be your new home.
Samuel J. Beadle is a first-year English major. SB1033446@wcupa.edu