Unlike most Universities, my special private University had a strict rule that we HAD to live in the dorms on campus all 4 years of our undergraduate careers. My first thought was, "are you kidding me?" How could I get stuck in a stupid dorm when all my friends at other universities were moving into their own apartments and getting their freedom to come and go as they please?
And me, I was stuck in an all girls dorm which included a curfew of 12am on weeknights, 2am on weekends, oh yeah and we could only have guests (aka boys) over from 7pm-10pm on week nights and 7pm-12:30am on weekends. Not that bad...oh just wait.. we also MUST keep the door OPEN and light ON and feet HAD to be touching the floor. Can you say PRISON maybe? Oh yes, and once a week we had a "room check" and if the trash wasn't taken out, the bed wasn't made and our floor was a mess we would get points which would add up to a $fine$ eventually.
This was the end of the world, it must be.
Well, 5 years and a whole lot of maturing later...
I have come to realize that those years in that "prison" taught me so much more than I could have ever imagined at the time. But I will sum it up into 5 big things.
1. I learned how to respect the person I lived with, which my husband is so grateful for today. I don't turn on lights in the morning when he is still asleep, I am quiet when he is busy or trying to accomplish something and I keep my things tidy out of respect for him and his space which we now share.
2. I learned that it is not a good idea to be alone with someone of the opposite sex in a room with the door closed. This hasn't been something I have used yet, but I think this will prove as an essential rule for me in my marriage. There is such a thing as a male friend, but boundaries must be implemented in order to avoid sticky and potentially tempting situations that may or may not threaten my marriage and my faithfulness.
3. Nothing good happens after 12am, so there is no reason to be out past then anyway. ;)
Also, sleep is vital to our health and wellness!
4. I learned that a clean space is a happy space! I don't have to talk myself into cleaning my apartment because i'm already in the habit of having it clean at least weekly, this including laundry and dishes. We were not allowed to have a dirty dish out during room check, so our dishes always needed to be done and no trash could be in the trashcan so that always needed to be taken out! And now, lets just say the bugs steer clear from our nice and clean apartment :)
5. Don't leave personal things in the bathroom. This was a rule our university had for the dorms I lived in, mostly because someone came in and cleaned them and we shared them with at least 5 other people. I now share a bathroom with my husband and consequently neither of us ever leaves any dirty clothes or towels in the bathroom, and it always stays neat and tidy, ready for company at any time!
Good thing my husband and I had a great University to teach us how to successfully share a home together!
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