Moving into college a month ago was incredibly scary for me. My mind was swarming with various worries and anxieties, none of which I knew how to address. But the most nervewracking part of starting freshman year was the fear that I would somehow miss the boat on making friends and be lonely all the time. This worry was so strong that during orientation I forced myself to be social and hang out with people I had just met even when all I wanted to do was lie down and watch some Netflix.

It turns out that I didn’t need to be so hard on myself during those stressful orientation days. I soon realized that, because I live in Dupre, I essentially have a built-in community of people who will always be around to chat or watch TV. This aspect of my social life has been incredibly important to me. Because my floor (Dupre 4 for the win) is generally very social and eager to spend time with each other, I have a group of people with whom I can always go to meals or walk to class.

When I first found out that I would be living in Dupre, I was a little apprehensive. I did my overnight as a prospective freshman in Dupre, so I remembered the slightly cramped bedroom and bathroom situations. But now, since I’ve gotten used to the building, I am beyond glad that I was put into Dupre instead of Doty or Turck. The lounge in the center of our floor is a perfect place to sit if I want to be social, but I never feel overly pressured to be with people 24 hours a day.

I believe that a floor community is very important because I don’t have to go very far to be around friends. (I can foresee that this will be doubly amazing once it gets colder, so I won’t have to venture outside to go to another building very often.) My floor in particular is very close because we are made up of a few residential first year courses. Lots of us were in the same orientation groups and have at least one of the same classes. Not only do we see each other around the building all the time, but we can also work together on (or complain to each other about) homework for our first year course. I have really enjoyed and benefited from having a social and academic community surrounding me.

I miss my family a lot, but my floormates have, in a way, become my new family. Our living situation is similar to how I lived back at home—we’re all in close quarters, but we have our own spaces when we need them. I know that if I need advice or help with homework, someone will always be around. Making friends with my floormates made my adjustment to Macalester slightly less scary, and for that I am incredibly grateful.