Expectation VS Reality
Have you ever wondered what it is like to live on campus at a university; well this is the place for you! I’m here to inform you about my experience living at the East Village Residence at Thompson Rivers University.
The dorms at East Village are an apartment-style layout. There are four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a full kitchen. We live on the fourth floor which is the top and my room has a balcony attached to it! I was able to select my roommates prior to moving in and choose to live with three of my closest friends, Emma, Ella, and Christa from my hometown. When I was planning my future at Thompson Rivers, I already had in mind where I wanted to live and with whom. East Village was the best place to live as it was able to accommodate the four of us and was cheaper compared to the other four-person dorm in North Tower.
When we first moved in, we were all so excited to start our first year of university. We were all assigned our rooms and started to unpack and decorate. Compared to other dorms, the bedrooms are spacious and come with a double bed, desk, and dresser. Everything looked exactly like the photos on the TRU housing page and once we personally decorated, it created a homey atmosphere. It was convenient to walk to school, the grocery store, restaurants and there is a bus stop right outside. However as the year went on, we started to realize some things that did not work for us.
For starters, living on the fourth floor means we have to do four flights of stairs a couple of times a day. It does not sound like much but when we have groceries, it can be a bit of a hassle. It is an older building so there is no elevator. The fridge can be tricky sometimes as it is not that big and there are four of us. We each have our own shelf, but there is limited space to fit all of our food. The freezer connected to the top of the fridge is even smaller and we tend to have to reorganize it constantly to be able to fit everything. It is a constant game of Tetris! I think I am the only one who has this problem but the closet does not fit my shopping addiction as they are quite small. Overall, I sometimes think the apartment is too small to fit four people, however, it is still liveable.
For my first year at university, the East Village dorm was a good choice as I am able to live with my friends and have the convenience of being close to campus. I am learning as I live on my own for the first time, what I want in my future housing. This is a big part of living on campus and figuring out as an adult what fits my needs and wants. I hope this gives you a bit more insight into what living on campus is like. Stay tuned to read more stories about my experience and the reality of living on campus!
The Outline:
The goal of this story is to inform readers about campus life at Thompson Rivers University. By the end of this story, I hope readers will have an idea of what the East Village Residence is like to dorm in and how I prepared to live on my own. The target audience likely to read this post is high school or post-secondary students who are curious about living on campus or preparing for their future at university. This audience will shape the style and content of this story as I want to make it fun and engaging while informing my readers.
Intro – the topic of living on campus/what the dorm is like
Body 1 – Explaining the dorms
- The layout of east village
Body 2 – My expectation
- How it was at the beginning of the year
Body 3 – The reality of the dorm
- How it is like now in the dorm
Conclusion – how I feel overall about the dorm/final thoughts