Meg Glawe
English 110
October 17, 2000
Dorm vs. Home Life
The first day I moved into my dorm, a whole new world lay before me that I hadn’t entered into before. Excited to be there, there were also many challenges I was faced with. After eight weeks, I’ve come to realize what I left behind me and what I had enjoyed at home the most. It was very different but I was ready and excited for the change.
Living in a dorm has its positives and negatives, though the positives seem to out weigh the negatives because dorm life is really fun. I have the freedom to come and go whenever I please, especially since I do not have a roommate. When I leave the room and come back everything is always left the way it was when I left it. An example is when I put pop in the fridge and come back and get one the next day it is still there. It is decorated the way I like, and it is better then just having my own room in my home because all my friends are just a few feet away it seems. I can also leave my homework all out and make it really organized in my own way. At home my mom would nag on me to keep my room organized. When to me it is just in my own unique way. I also like being able to have the freedom of making decisions on my own like when to eat, sleep, clean, do homework. It is all really up to me and it is awesome.
There are always things that are not too great about living off in a dorm away from home. Instances are having to pay to wash clothes, plus the fact you have to wash them yourself. Also having to buy your own milk and juice and other munchies is a downside. At home, my house was packed with tons of things to eat.

There are also the positives and negatives of living at home I realize now that I am experiencing dorm life. The great thing about living at home is the closeness of my family. Everyone got a hug everyday, at least from me they did. In my family it was just my mom and dad and a sister four years younger then me. We are all very close and would all hang out and visit or watch television and talk about our day. My house is also very big, so when I got tired of being in one room I would just go sit in another. When living in the dorm, there are many other places to go on campus, but at home I could still be alone. Another nice thing at home was that I could usually listen to my music really loud because I live in the country. Here it is just not the case because the walls are paperthin and everyone listens to different kinds of music.
There are negative things about home though. At home I was not able to use the computer as much. Whenever we get online we tie up the phone line and my parents believe it is too expensive to get a second line. We also can use only so many minutes a month so we have to keep an eye on the time when we are online which is kind of a hassle.
When it comes to picking between all these likes and dislikes about dorm life and living at home, choosing a favorite is easy. Dorm life is definitely better. I love my little dorm it shows who I am and living here has given me a clearer picture of who I am and what I can do with my life.