Undergraduate Digest; An Unfiltered Look Into College Living.

Are you familiar with Architechtural Digest? This blog series is exactly like that! …just without the water features and imported Italian tiling or anything glamorous, at all really. But however un-glamourous, one’s college years are some of the most wonderfully unpredictable and exciting experiences for young adults. 

We’ve since graduated from sharing a cramped dorm room with a roommate you barely know. Now, you’ve got your own space (or at least, your own corner of it), and the opportunity to transform it into your own little slice of home.

Whether you’re moving in with a bunch of friends or finding yourself with roommates you barely know, living in a house during college is a unique mix of freedom, responsibility, and a few unexpected surprises along the way. Of course, with all that freedom comes a few challenges.  Moving is no small endeavor and living alone for the first time is an unforgettable experience. Most college students will leave their childhood homes to start a new chapter…in 8 x 11 ft rooms. Speaking for myself and my friends, the sense of freedom and novelty that came with first-year college living made up for the lack of personal space. However exciting, dorm rooms can feel temporary and not unlike sleepaway camp with bunk beds and dining hall food. Still, we cherished the shared hallways and limited functioning washing machines. 

What makes a home? For college students it could be a hard earned beer can tower, a precious pottery barn hand-me-down or the facebook marketplace coffee table that’s seen it all. Though material items don’t define a home, they often have stories that give life to a new place. No matter how random or junk-filled, a person’s home is a wonderfully authentic snapshot of the stage of life they’re in. 

It’s an opportunity to learn how to live with others, manage your own space, and create memories that will last long after graduation. I hope that in following along with this collection, you get a glimpse into the everyday lives of students in my college town and maybe even find some inspiration to bring back to your own home.