Fabienne Fleurantin/ Staff Writer
Living on campus is something I always wanted to do. In my mind, it would bring me closer to independence and challenge me to persevere in an environment that is unfamiliar to me.
“I really enjoy having roommates. I’ve been lucky enough to have roommates that I get along with and have become close friends to,” said Janel Rizzo, a senior majoring in journalism, who has been living on campus since her freshman year.
“My roommates make living at FIU like a second home for me,” she said.
There is so much freedom that comes with living on campus, a privilege some students don’t have at home. But there also comes an appreciation for handling responsibilities.
For junior and psychology major Krisma King, living on campus was an adjustment.
“Being independent is more difficult than I thought it would be. When you think of independence you think of freedom, but the thing about that is you don’t think about how hard it is to get that freedom,” King said.
“It’s not easy to budget money around food and washing clothes and then having fun.”
After time and practice, living on campus becomes an experience one can be proud of. Students are taking the initiative to learn and do things they haven’t before and get out of their comfort zones.
“Living on your own just takes independence to another level. You are responsible for setting your own agenda,” Rizzo said.
“You can decide whether you want to do something or not and you have to deal with those results.”
Everyone’s definition of adulting differs.
According to Urban Dictionary, it means “to do grown up things and hold responsibilities such as a 9-5 job, a mortgage/rent, a car payment, or anything else that makes one think of grown ups.”
My family would wholeheartedly agree with this definition.
However, adulting and being independent are subjective concepts. It can be defined differently per culture, circumstance or just plain opinion.
Many people may think that living on campus is not considered adulting at full capacity, but Rizzo thinks otherwise.
“I don’t think living on campus means I am fully an adult because I do still depend on my parents for a lot of things,” Rizzo said.
“I believe that living on campus is a good transition for becoming an adult,” she said.
Although I live with my parents at home, I consider myself as someone who is independent because I help my mother with the bills, take responsibility for my own actions and organize my priorities first before I neglect them.
I pride myself on trying to do things on my own, and little by little, I am becoming the adult I’ve always wanted to be.
DISCLAIMER:
The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of FIU Student Media Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.
Image retrieved from Flickr.
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