Most Ohio University students have lived in dorms at some point, and sometimes living extremely close to people can hurt friendships.
This weekend, I’m reuniting with people from my freshman year dorm, and I’m really nervous.
I lived on a very social floor where doors were always open, everyone knew each other, great friends were made and some hall drama emerged.
We were a really close floor, but proximity can sometimes lead to problems. At least it did for me.
As a very stubborn and naïve freshman experiencing the culture shock of college, meeting and living with new people from all sorts of backgrounds and learning how to handle alcohol, I made a lot of mistakes and came in conflict with a few people.
I regret a lot about how I acted my freshman year and have wanted to avoid people who knew me back then.
But maybe I don’t have to.
At the end of last year, I made amends with someone from freshman year with whom I did not get along. Neither of us were blameless in our friction-filled acquaintance, and while you don't have to get along with everyone you live near, we have close mutual friends and have had to be around each other from time to time.
When we ran into each other last year, we were finally both mature enough to let bygones be bygones — water under the bridge. And I’m so happy about that.
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I wouldn't want someone to regard me negatively NOW based on what I did/said/believed three years ago. So of course I wanted to extend my old dormmate the same courtesy. I hope this happens with others, as well.
I won't go as far as to say I'm a new person because we are who we are, but I've definitely changed, mostly for the better I hope.
Even though I don’t always love looking back on freshman year (not to say there weren’t good times, too, of course. I’m sure I remember the bad stuff with more gravity than all the good), I'm grateful I lived where I did with the people I did. Freshman year shaped my entire college experience from the start. My dorm is where I met my best friends and current housemates. The people I disagreed with or didn’t understand opened my eyes and helped burst the homogeneous bubble I had been living in.
Maybe if I lived with different people, I would have been different. But I still would have made mistakes because I was growing and learning and adjusting to the independence college brings.
So though I’m nervous to see everyone this weekend, I’m also looking forward to catching up, laughing about my freshman year stupidity and seeing how everyone else has changed, as well.
To current freshmen, don't be like me. You'll make mistakes, but don't let them ruin relationships or make you wince every time you think back on them three years later. Hold your tongue and your judgment. Keep an open mind and be careful when you drink. Everyone changes in college. Make sure the change it positive.
Erin Davoran is a senior studying journalism. Do you have any freshman year regrets? Tweet her @erindavoran or email her at ed414911@ohio.edu.
