Why Living in RES was the BEST decision of my life!

People always ask me what living in residence was like. I don't know how else to say it but living in

Look how HAPPY they look!

residence was the BEST decision of my whole university life. I learned so much about myself and York as a result of living on campus.

DISCLAIMER: I think that I should mention that as an international student I didn't have a ton of options when it came to living in Toronto, just because I didn't know my way around the city, so living in residence was the best option for me.

What should you expect from living in residence?
-Events, upon Events, upon EVENTS

I <3 Movie Night

--When I first moved in I thought that living in residence meant that I'd just have a place on campus to sleep and store my stuff. I didn't think there'd be so many things to do. Within my first month I had been to more residence run events that classes...there were things that happened almost every day! Events like, house meeting, meet and greets, movie nights, game nights, weekly t.v. show viewing parties in the common room, baking nights and so many more. Honestly I didn't expect my
Don, a.k.a. residence adviser, to have so much for me to do or to care so much that I come out and take part. So there's no shortage of things to do in residence on a weekly basis. All you have to do is venture out of your room to take part!

-Always having someone to hang out
 --Since there are so many people living in residence there's never a shortage of people to hang out with. If you attend a few house events, you'll meet some of the people that live in your building, in your house or on

your floor. Meeting people means that no matter what time of day it is there's someone there for you to hang out with. So gather up your courage and be brave enough to step out of your room and knock on the door next to you and meet your new best friend. That's exactly what happened to me, the girl I wound up being BFF's with knocked on my door and introduced herself...the rest as they say is history!

-Convenience of being right at the heart of the action
 --Being on campus means that you're always here. So you have lots of opportunities to attend events that happen at night without worrying about having to catch the last bus back home. So you'll find that your ability to get involved is even easier since you don't have to worry about commuting home after an event. Also living on campus means that you can sleep in a little bit later so if you have an 8:30 class you can wake up at 8:15 and still make it to class with time to spare!

Common Myths about Residence
-Endless Parties: There are lots of really fun events that happen in residence, and there are parties that happen however, the residence life staff do a really good job at making sure that people don't have parties every night or that the parties aren't too loud or don't go too long into the night. Around exam time in fact

Not exactly accurate!

there are quiet hours that are strictly enforced so that everyone has the opportunity to study for their exams!

-There are No Rules: Sometime people move into residence expecting there to be no rules, however in order to keep everyone safe there are some rules but nothing that infringe too much on your independence. Things like drinking in public spaces, smoking, or destroying furniture are rules that keep us all safe. But no one is going to be your parent.

-Sharing a bathroom means I'll never get to shower: For some reason people seem to think that living in residence will mean that there will be long lines waiting for showers, sinks or toilets. Yes you do have to share your bathroom with more people than you might be used to, it does not mean that you'll never have a chance to take a shower. Since everyone has different class and work schedules there are very few if any times that you'll find yourself waiting for a shower. I lived in residence for two years and I NEVER had to wait for a shower, and I lived on a floor with 23 other people!

I can't say enough good things about living in residence, I really enjoyed every minute of my time there. If you're on the fence about applying for residence or you're worried about moving in let I hope that you feel inspired to apply and are excited to move in! If you have any questions about anything that I wrote about here feel free to comment below!

Until next time, remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole