IT'S MY PLACE!

No bed, no curtains, no pots, no pans—it's home.

The above description is exactly what my first and current apartment looked like when I walked in the door; a bare den complete with moderate renovations and a staircase.

On the same day graduate students were crossing the stage receiving their master’s degrees, my roommate and I walked over the threshold of a space of rental property we both dub, “the palace.”

Sure, we didn’t have any furniture.

Yeah, there was a big stain in the living room’s carpet.

Of course, the bathroom wasn’t cleaned and the tub was littered with soap scum and other unidentifiable substances.

But it was ours.

Living on campus for two years doesn’t bring the same kind of liberation or pride one’s own place does.

There is the convenience of Café Cash, Thomson Café, Eagle Express and now, Starbucks, but there’s nothing like going home after spending hours in the student publications office and scrounging for food through a semi-empty refrigerator.

With money that goes to rent, a utility bill, groceries, gas, a cell phone bill and car insurance, it sure can be tempting to reminisce about the days I could leave my residence hall, shimmy to Thomson and choose from a variety of questionable food choices.

But I have to remember that I also don’t have to always settle for two-day-old pizza or ‘noodles ala noodles.’

Instead, I have a roommate who loves to cook and I myself can do a little something in the kitchen every now and then.

Not having a bed until this past September has led me to miss the comforts of crashing in my twin sized bed after a hard day.

But, then again, I have to remember that when I was crashing into that bed, it was beside a loud air conditioning unit that blew air with a funky odor.

I also have to remember that in the room with that bed was a roommate who slept less than what felt like 5 feet away from me.

Now, I have my own room, adorned with a desk larger than the ones that can be found in a residence hall. It also has a poster’s illustration of a Bible verse hanging on the wall, a walk-in closet and is clean.

Most importantly though is that the room is mine.

I don’t have to vacate the premises during Fall Break.

I have a roommate who is as much of a clean freak as I am.

On the weekends, I don’t have to complain about having nothing to do or being bored in my room.

Nowadays, I prefer to chill out in my living room or catch up on sleep.

When doing schoolwork, I still prefer the resources the campus has to offer, such as the library and various computer labs.

But, when completing assignments that don’t need to be done on a Mac, it’s refreshing to lounge on my living room floor and get the work done in peace and quiet.

I can’t say that living off campus is for everyone. There’s definitely a lot of responsibility and change that comes with it.

My financial state has felt the most change but I don’t regret it.

Why?

Because for all the money and hard work that goes into maintaining an apartment, at the end of the day, I can say its mine.

People can argue that it really belongs to the realtor but, for now, I’ll live in the belief that the somewhat spacious, lavender scented, clean-carpeted apartment I go home to everyday belongs to me…and my roommate of course.

Yes, buying stuff for the apartment gets pricey but I’ve also learned that furnishing one’s place requires time and patience.

I’m just glad that we now have curtains, pots and pans.