Dorm life: the interesting, crazy, horrible, wonderful and enlightening experience that most college freshman will get to experience. Living in a residence hall is definitely what you make of it and there are a few things that you might want to know if you are planning on living in a residence hall your first year.

Having gone through two residence halls and two roommates in my first year of college, I like to think I know a few things on how to make it through with minimal difficulty. First you have to learn how to deal with your main obstacle: the shared bathroom.

“One thing I wish I had known about the residence hall before I moved in is how gross the bathrooms can be. NEVER go barefoot in a bathroom!” Ben Clements, junior in biological engineering, said.

While the idea might not at first evoke much thought, you will soon discover that actually getting hot water, not developing a foot fungus, finding an open shower and maintaining your modesty are harder problems than you would think.

Not to worry though, because there are ways around this.

Make sure you always wear flip flops or some kind of shoes in the shower; it is not worth the risk. Also, it would be a good idea to invest in a bathrobe or some sort of cover that will not fall off while you’re walking down the hall and trying to juggle your bath caddy at the same time as holding your towel up. Another thing that really helps is if you time yourself to get to the bathroom about two minutes before the rush gets there, this way you will always have an open shower and hot water.

Although moving into a residence hall does mean you don’t live at home anymore, it does not mean there aren’t any rules.

But even more important than the rules in the residence halls, according to two-year residence hall occupant Jason Denney, a junior in electrical engineering, is “being smart and responsible.”

All resident advisers are different, and they all enforce rules differently as well.

Take former RA Ashley Diamont for example.

“I enforced all of the rules when kids were blatantly breaking them and bothering other people,” Diamont, a sophomore in middle grades education, said. “However, there are a few things that I will let slide if it is being done in a responsible and private manner and they are not doing any actual damage.”

Once you get a feel for your residence hall and your RA, you will get way more comfortable with your living situation.

But for Denney, there are even more important factors.

“The biggest issue with living in a residence hall is privacy,” said Denney. “You’ve got to share everything, like bad smells and peanut butter.”

Never has anyone uttered a more true statement.

Even if you don’t mind having your roommate around, there are times when you just want a little privacy, and your residence hall is not where you are going to get it, more often than not.

Being in the same small space that you cannot even call your own is hard enough, but there isn’t a room in the whole residence hall that you don’t have to share with someone. If you want some alone time, the best place to go is to one of the book stacks in the library or to an outdoor spot that is secluded.

I found that actually having time to sleep can really be a problem when you are living in a residence hall as well. There are so many activities and events going on that you constantly stay busy, and when you aren’t doing one of those, you are meeting new people and hanging out with friends.

It’s important to really budget your time and not try to spread yourself too thin when you are in a residence hall.

Try to get involved with a few organized activities to which you can really devote your time, and if you don’t want anyone stopping by just close your door — most people get the hint.

I always tried to do things with a friend so that actually making a commitment to something was easier; my roommate and I went to a pilates class together twice a week and going together got both of us motivated to go.

“The hardest part was the roommate situation,” David Wade, a sophomore in First Year College, said. “I went through four roommates.”

You will discover that the main challenge is actually living in a tiny room with another person. Your best friend can soon become your enemy or your pot-luck roommate could become the bane of your existence if you don’t make some sacrifices to peacefully coexist in your residence hall room.

Always be considerate of your roommate even if you don’t want to; you will definitely be glad that you avoided tension when it’s you that wants to sleep and your roommate is the one staying up late with the music on or having his or her significant other over all hours of the night.

One thing that made a big difference with me with my second roommate was having an agreement right when I moved in and saying what habits would really bother me and which ones were okay. It’s a complete pain to move rooms, so you should really try to at least get along with your roommate. It will make life in the residence halls so much better for you.

There are many other things you will learn about yourself and other people by living in a residence hall. You should enjoy it to the fullest and live it up, because it truly is one of the best years of college and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.