How Bittersweet It Is
After two years of new friendships, developing aspirations and lessons learned, I have finally moved out of my on-campus home, the dorm room where I grew up. At 2 p.m., my room became completely devoid of any evidence that it ever belonged to me, even with the two years of history we have together, and all of its contents are now split between a storage unit and my childhood bedroom.
My parents have had the same house since I was two years old, and so moving isn’t exactly my forte. I like the consistency of the room I’ve known forever. Living in the same dorm for two years brought with it a similar familiarity, one that made the transition to college much smoother.
As I stripped my walls of all their posters, collages and bulletin boards, I realized how much of an effect a place can have on you. I thought about the ups and the downs, the friends I’d made and the people who had disappointed me, the celebrations/birthdays I’d thrown and the days I’d lay sick in bed. I thought about all the roommates I had at different times in that room (six official, but sometimes it felt like a lot more!). I thought about my freshman year especially and everything it had taught me, and one thing rang true: for better or for worse, I’m going to miss this place.
In two weeks, I will move into an apartment off campus with two of my close friends, and I am very excited to live there with them. At the same time, a small part of me is sad to leave my old room behind. The move can be such a bittersweet thing, unearthing one’s nostalgia and painful memories, but the change (while scary) can also lead to bigger, better things.
What would you miss most about your apartment or dorm room? How do you feel about the next step?
I miss my dorm room a ton. It was my little place away from home. I got to keep things how I like and let who I want in. Can’t wait to move back into the dorms 🙂
It’s going to be crazy visiting you in my old dorm next year! I vacuumed the room before I left and made sure it was super clean for you. 🙂 Hope you are having a great summer! Thank you for commenting.
Val, I LOVE this post. A room is so symbolic of a person’s life at that point. But don’t forget that you always have those memories imprinted in your head even if you don’t actually live there anymore. Change is all part of growing up. Good luck in your new apartment and I can’t wait to see it and make so many more memories!
Thank you so much! I agree that the memories can always stick with you even when you aren’t there anymore, which might be why I take so many pictures of everything. 🙂 I can’t wait for you to visit me in the fall. Now that the dreaded move-out is FINALLY over, I am so excited for the next chapter!
I once missed my Fraternity House and room in it. Later you will look back at the fond memories and might even wonder how you ever lived in such a place. Visiting the recently renovated Fraternity House 30 years later, I was amazed at how it deteriorated in that time. Grandma and Grandpa pointed out to me that it had not deteriorated so much as my judgment had improved. The memories and events are important, the physical structure is not. Like always, another good post.
Thank you so much! I’m sure I will look back and find the same thing when I look at all the old pictures. 🙂
I love your post! i never thought anyone would know how i feel about moving three times in my childhood, i moved from Chile to Vancouver and then moved again to another place within the city. Every time the family moved it’s been a walk down memory lane from the pictures to books to the little things that i collected over the years, thank you for sharing your post 🙂 now i don’t feel so alone again 🙂 good luck with everything!
I can’t even imagine moving so far! That must have been so hard. I’m really happy that you enjoyed my post and were able to relate 🙂 Thank you so much… best of luck to you too! Your comment means a lot to me!
Moving out of my dorm room was very hard for me. I felt like I was saying goodbye to the place where I made so many memories with my Incredible roommates :p
I loved my summer roommates freshman year and I was very sad to leave them! Maybe one day I will live with them again 🙂