A Surprising Sophomore Take on Living in Swig
A Second-Year in Swig
Sophomore year. You feel more independent. You’ve found your community, you’re more confident and you’re ready to enjoy being a student rather than still figuring everything out. You want to ease into the new year, allowing nothing to hold you back.
I was excited to do this, until it hit me that I was living in Swig as a sophomore. Swig: the notoriously loud and crowded first-year dorm.
For me, the best part of coming back to school is reconnecting with my friends. The weekend before school is not only a time to prepare for classes but also to barbeque, tan on the lawn, go out and really bond with your friends.
Entering my sophomore year, I was so excited to do this, but I couldn’t. I was not allowed to move into my dorm until the day before school started. This gave me limited time to move in, prepare for classes the next day and enjoy time with people I love. Of course, this wasn’t the biggest deal in the world, but the experience really stressed me out. It wasn’t the start to the quarter I wanted, and it left me feeling cynical about Swig.
Within the first few weeks of the quarter, I thought I had it figured out. I felt like sophomores didn’t want to make friends with the people on their floors because they had made their friends last year. I assumed my floor was going to be much quieter because sophomores aren’t as rowdy as first-years. I didn’t think I would need my community facilitator (CF) or that I would even build a relationship with her. I was sure all my clothes would be ruined by Swig washing machines and dryers. And, I knew I was going to spend more of the year sick rather than healthy. I wasn’t sure this was going to be the happiest year.
However, as the year has progressed, my expectations have been defied. Although some people aren’t friendly, several students on my floor are now my absolute best friends. My floor isn’t quiet, because it’s filled with laughter and excitement.
My community facilitator is the kindest human and offers fantastic advice. She cares about our floor and it shows. I don’t feel as though I’m having a lonely experience; I am happy because I’m making the most of the situation I have been thrown into.
It’s not fun getting locked out of your room and having to call Campus Safety. It’s annoying to get noise complaints and I don’t like getting written up for dumb occurrences. I don’t like having to dry my clothes three times to get the job done. And I was literally in the emergency room because of Swig Flu.
But, I have an amazing view of the campus from my room. The Swig community is really special and people get close. We have a kitchen, many places to study, and residents are super friendly.
The reason I’m happy is because I chose to see the positive aspects of living in Swig. I made an effort to make friends on my floor and get to know my CF. I chose to acknowledge the benefits and ignore the annoyances.
When I first moved in, I would roll my eyes as I told people I live in Swig as a sophomore. But now, I say it with a smile.
Krishna Bheda is a sophomore economics major.