BY KRISSY MONTVILLE ’14
Layout Assistant

It wasn’t long ago that juniors and seniors found themselves entering the world of off-campus living for the 2012-2013 school year. As we all quickly came to realize, this not only meant new freedoms and more space, but also saying a sorrow-filled goodbye to those who cleaned our bathrooms, and cooked our meals, and a roommate who wasn’t scared of telling you to get rid of the moldy “Easy Mac” under your bed.

I honestly believed the silly mishaps such as trying to put a frying pan in the microwave would end after the first few weeks as we navigated our way through the new domesticated living style; how wrong I have been — it only gets more entertaining as the semester progresses.

Homerentership has brought to light new issues never encountered by us budding adults. Nothing is worse than having to figure out how to get a curious possum off the roof or finding someone attempting to clean the shower with a vacuum.

As for cooking, setting the oven to broil is not the same as 350 degrees; your food will catch fire. But no worries, you learn fast enough that a little hot sauce fixes all.

The meal concoctions become more and more resourceful as time goes on and the refrigerator slowly empties. Trying to make something edible out of a jar of pickles, half a box of pasta and some left over bagels is always a challenge, but sometimes you get lucky and stumble into a masterpiece. It is a sad realization when you step back and look at the sheer amount of dishes it takes to make one meal, all piled high in the sink. If only the D-Hall dirty dish bins could swing by your house.

But never fear, F&M! We are slowly but surely figuring out this thing called life, whether it is in College Row, the Lofts, or on West James Street. Keep those fire extinguishers handy, and remember you can’t iron a plastic shower curtain or keep food condiments stored in the washing machine without informing the rest of your housemates. Soon more obstacles will be upon us such as bills and possibly mowing the lawn but until then enjoy every moment of this newfound freedom and take every chance to laugh and learn from it.

Questions? Email Krissy at kmontvil@fandm.edu.

[fblike layout=”standard” show_faces=”true” action=”recommend” font=”arial” colorscheme=”light”]

By TCR