Finally, hope is near. I am just twenty-three days away from moving away from my annoying roommate—and next year I will have my own room! Room selection (for me) was tonight, and next August, I will be the proud recipient of the keys to Swartz 211 (that’s second floor, Hill side). It’s not the biggest single, but the key is that I am living alone, which rocks. I am next to my friend Andrew, and two doors down from my friend Nicole.

As far as first experiences go, picking rooms was actually quite fun. We blocked using Nicole’s number, which was 50, so we got to go in the second group to pick for block groups—which means we were close enough to the front of the line to still be with students hoping to get the coveted “Gateways,” which could best be described as a cross between apartments and dormitory rooms. The tension in the air was so thick you could cut through it with a chainsaw. We were interested only in singles in Swartz, which we were quite likely to get, so we got to sit back and watch the cutthroat fights for the Gateways. Housing selection is truly a spectator sport. It’s more exciting than football.