One of the most memorable experiences of our lives will be attending college. The most obvious change is that we don’t need to be under the watchful eye of our parents. Basically every decision we make is our own and not made for us. We chose our classes, meals, friends, social activities and where we want to live. Second semester demands our full attention, but the housing process is hitting us full force. The choice of where to live is easy for some people. Enjoy Complex, first-years! It’s an experience you’ll never forget, and if you’re lucky you get to re-live it more than one academic year. Sophomores are hoping to get out of Complex and dreaming of living off campus. Sorry guys, your priority number is in the 3000s? No way you’ll be getting off campus. Unless, of course, you have one of the special reasons that lets you off the hook.

Juniors, on the other hand, feel the glimmer of having their own room, paying utilities, walking up to campus, answering to the police and not Campus Safety and inviting all their friends down for a good old fashioned box social. Visiting old friends at bigger public universities and seeing how much fun they have living in their big houses makes us jealous. I admit the idea of having a house to live in is very tantalizing.

Obviously I don’t speak for everyone. You could end up with a house where it’s so drafty, you feel like you’re living in the middle of the Norelius  parking lot during January Interim Experience. Then there is the real-life experience of finding a landlord (who actually answers the phone if your water stops working) and signing leases. Your mom isn’t going to save you this time, so put on your big person pants and find a house!

Living on campus has its perks as well. You never have to cook for yourself! I mean, ignoring prices, the Market Place food is fantastic. Plus, living on campus means you can always walk where you need to go or call an escort if you’re lazy.

Convenience really is the biggest perk. You are always within a 10 minute walking distance from  everything you need. Unlike other big schools, I am thankful I don’t need a bus to get to a meeting with my professor. Except for the poor Arbor View folk, you get the perks of living on campus but it’s basically off campus.

I can never believe it when friendships can be torn apart by random numbers assigned by chance. You and two friends really want to live together and hope that, finally, all the stars align and your priority numbers are sky-high. What happens if someone’s number is one above the alcohol restriction cutoff? Ditch your friend and carry onward? Then you feel like a royal tool. There is no possible way to plan anything until priority numbers are released. Then it becomes a free-for-all, and the texts and phone calls start flying. The problem becomes: you love your friends—you just hate their priority numbers. I have decided that for the next few weeks, I am going to stress out more than I really should.

I pity the faculty down in Residential Life. There are students on campus who feel it is their birth right to live off campus, have the highest priority number and want to call the shots regarding their living situation.

Taking advice from the great philosopher Mick Jagger, you can’t always get what you want. Rumors fly like crazy at this time too, obviously. I am sure we have all heard some quality water cooler talk about “this one first-year girl whose rich daddy donated to the new building, so Residential Life let her off campus” or “this guy made his parents lie about a crippling medical condition, and they let him off campus.” Try to cut these people some slack. There are plenty of students who are in a raging mess because their priority numbers suck. I definitely felt that emotion last year after every new rejection e-mail I received from Residential Life.

As mad as some of you are, use the age-old advice of putting yourself in another person’s shoes. We all (at least most of us) have four years here, and odds are at least one of those years you will get what you request. Good luck to all!