First-year students everywhere are moving into their dorm rooms, meeting their new roommates, and pretending they have a cool relationship with their parents by ordering them to set down the mini-fridge in that specific corner. We take a brief moment from a few of these newcomers’ days to ask them how they have prepared for their first exciting year at university.
NATHANIEL: Well, I can’t live without my copies of Heart of Darkness, Crime and Punishment, and Cat’s Cradle. I don’t expect everyone to really, like, get it. But they’re just so classic, you know? Really exploring the darkness within all men. I mean, also women. I’m all about including females in my analyses of novels. They do some interesting stuff if you dig deep enough. If you haven’t guessed, I also really like to write.
ANGELIKA: I brought a lot of posters from my favourite Broadway and off-Broadway productions. You might have heard of Hamilton? Well, I actually saw it in its original venue, so I got hooked before everyone else. I also have all the Hamilton songs memorized, and I gotta say; my rapping isn’t bad! I sing everywhere I go. Singing in the shower, at the cafeteria, in my room. It’s just a quirky thing I do (laughs). I brought a keyboard, too, so there are going to be some great jams in here. Everyone’ll have a good time. This floor’s going to be the party floor!
JOEY: I brought my hoop. You know, like a little basketball hoop for my wall. Shooting some hoops in here is gonna lighten the mood. I actually positioned it so I can aim from my bed. We can take turns, man. I’m not gonna miss so it’s not gonna hit the wall or make noise or something. Just for when the boys come over, like we’ll have some beers and hang out. Homework? Oh, that can’t be much harder than it was in high school. I heard calc is just the same as Grade 12. I’ll just email the professors a lot about my sports and stuff. It’s gonna be lit!
ELI: I brought my guitar. I can’t wait to bring it out in the common rooms and quad. It really brings people together, you know? I think people actually like “Wonderwall” deep down. I’ve played it at a few events in my hometown. I hope to perform at all the coffeehouses here, because I’m working on my own original songs. I mix them on Garageband. Too bad my headphones got broken before I moved in.
Of course, living in a dormitory is an exercise in patience and compromise. As time wears on, we wish to all those who live on residence the strength to share their washrooms and bond over clogged drains. We promise; you (and your immune systems) will be stronger by the end of the year.