Welcome to my room in Scotts-Bates Commons, one of the sophomore residence halls on campus! Everyone in the building lives in either a double or a quad. I live in a double with my roommate Simiao. We share a common room, kitchen, and bathroom, but we each have our own bedroom!
For sophomore housing, first-year students are randomly assigned a timeslot to log into the housing portal and pick their building and room. We got lucky with our timeslot lottery when choosing housing last year. So, we ended up with a large living area (and an amazing view that I’ll show you!).
This is our kitchen! The room came with all the built-in appliances (stovetop, sink, overhead vent and light, and mini fridge), but we purchased the microwave and all the other supplies. Both Simiao and I love green, so we unintentionally matched all our kitchen gear. There is plenty of cabinet and drawer space for us to use; so much so that some of our storage space is empty.
Opposite our kitchen is our living area (with a sneak peek of our stunning 12th floor view). I am currently working on procedures for Introductory Organic Chemistry Lab, one of my classes this semester, but I also use this table every morning for breakfast. Neither of us like to study in our bedroom, so we usually split this room and are often parallel working together on the table, couch, or rocker.
I absolutely adore both plants and ducks. I’ve decorated part of our living room with succulents and some of the rubber ducks I won at a recent swim meet. Finding little ways to decorate and brighten my living space is something that I love doing, and I think plants and ducks are the perfect way to do so.
This is a photo I took earlier in the year of our big window overlooking all of campus and the new Bloomberg Student Center. Watching the sun set behind Gilman clock tower is probably half of my camera roll at this point and something I make a point to do at least once every week!
I couldn’t figure out a way to take a photo of our bathroom without looking a tad awkward in the mirror, so mirror selfie it is! Our bathroom is the smallest room in our suite, but it’s still spacious. I use the same shower caddy as I did my first year, but it’s so nice to be able to keep our toothbrushes, lotion, makeup remover, and other supplies on the ledge below the mirror. Plus, as a swimmer, having my own shower to hang my suit on to dry is such a blessing.
This is my bedroom! It is quite large and honestly way more space than I was used to last year, living in AMR I, one of our communal-style, first-year residence halls. The doors to the left of the image are to my closet. We have a similar shared closet in our common area as well. My bedroom is a space for me to be a bit more personal. So, I decorate with pictures of friends and family as well as meaningful gifts.
My desk is used quite often this year. I use it every day to read my Bible, draw, read, or as a phone stand when I call my parents at home. I highly recommend getting a computer stand, it has made my posture so much better, and I honestly wish I could bring it out with me when I go study.
These were just a few snapshots of my sophomore-year residence hall life. Being able to personalize my own space while living on campus is such a blessing and adds so much comfort to the space I come home to each evening!
