Tag Archives: Roommates

Food For Thought…Potluck!

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By Lauren Woods

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When picking your roommate, I recommend going potluck, aka being randomly assigned a roommate. It was one of the best decisions I made before actually living on campus. Random roommate assignment is a chance for you to step outside your comfort zone and embrace the community experience! My current roommate is from Monterrey, Mexico, and I’ve learned so much from her.

This year, I’m a part of the HLT (Hall Leadership Team) and RCC (Residential Community Council) for Collins Residence Hall. These student groups have taught me how important community truly is when you’re in college. This sense of community starts with your roommate and extends to the entire Baylor campus. Hand picking a roommate your freshman year may be beneficial, but meeting someone new on move-in day is too. It gives you the opportunity to develop interaction skills with someone new. These skills are vital during and after college. Regardless of how you chose your roommate, community will be instilled during your time here at Baylor. I guess the question is, “How will you embrace this?”

Spring Fever (Literally)

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By Brooks Goodwin

My last blog post was about how much I enjoyed spring time here at Baylor, and that is still very true. However, I seemingly forgot what spring brings with it, which my body very quickly reminded me of – allergies. Not just everyday allergies though, but allergies bad enough to actually get you very sick, where you have to do something about it.

During the first couple of days after Spring Break, I got a bad case of allergies and was constantly coughing. On top of that, I ended up with a fever and just felt awful. Then, to make things even worse, both of my roommates happened to get sick at the same time. Now, I have been living with my current roommates since the first day of freshman year, and this was the first time we have all been sick at once, which I guess is a good thing. However, it does make things a little complicated to have a room full of sick people, constantly filling up the air with germs and whatnot. This made it very difficult for any one of us to get completely better as there was always another person still sick in the room. We ended up disinfecting the shared spaces and tried to keep it as clean as possible. We all seem to be getting close to 100 percent now, which is a good sign for the upcoming weeks.

After reading about my experience, here are some tips if you are ever unfortunate enough to end up sick during your time here:

  1. Get plenty of rest! Seriously. Your body needs time to recover, so you need to stay in bed as much as you can. I’m not necessarily telling you to skip class, but if you have the option, it won’t be the end of the world. Just make sure you aren’t missing any quizzes/tests if you aren’t feeling well and get notes from someone in your class.
  2. Take medicine/home remedies. There are plenty of allergy/cough/flu medicines available, and the Baylor Bookstore actually has some in stock for students. Take advantage of these or make some remedies at home such as tea with honey for a sore throat.
  3. WASH YOUR HANDS. I feel like this one is obvious, but I’ve seen more than enough people walk out of the bathroom without doing it. Just do it.

Hopefully, you never get sick while you are here, but if you do, just be sure to take care of yourself. Don’t force yourself to get out for one day when you really aren’t feeling too great and cause yourself to be sick any longer. Take my word for it!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

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By Joe Bridgeman

My dream is to one day have a snow day. I grew up in Salt Lake City, and as such, I have never had a snow day. My hometown gets a lot of snow during the winter, but because it was a normal thing, it was never an occasion to cancel school or shut down anything.

Down here in Waco, Texas, it’s different. It does not snow here. Ice shuts down everything. Some professors commute an hour or two from Dallas/Fort Worth to campus. Off-campus students also have to drive to school. Icy roads means that the trip to Baylor each school day suddenly gets a lot more dangerous for a multitude of people, so canceling school for the day is a valid option when this happens.

IMG_7605A few days ago in the early evening, it started snowing.  It started as a light rain coupled with 30 degree temperatures and a harsh wind. Then as the sun continued to set, the light rain became little balls of hail.  Then the little balls of hail became snow flurries, and by dinnertime, it was just flat out snowing.  We were ecstatic. A roommate of mine had never even seen snow before! We went to sleep smiling and dreaming about all the fun things we would do the next day when school was inevitably canceled. And then, this email comes waltzing into our inboxes at 5:52am: “University Open Today”. Sad face. I may still have to go to class, but I’ll be humming a few Christmas songs throughout the day just hoping for that one snow day to come along.

There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays

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By Brooks Goodwin

Well, December has finally arrived. It’s time for bright lights and an assortment of decorations everywhere you look. You can definitely feel the excitement on campus, as students prepare for Christmas on 5th Street and look forward to the end of the semester. This time can also be very stressful, with finals looming over you. And somehow, the desire to simply be home for a whole month during winter break seems to grow more each day. So, what I have found to be helpful around this time is to bring a little bit of home with you to Baylor, to give you the little extra push to finish out the semester.

When you think about the holidays, whether that be Christmas or whatever holiday you usually celebrate around this time, there are definitely traditions that you and your family have that make this time of year special. What is pretty cool is to find out the traditions that other people have for the holidays that they feel are special, such as your roommates. This is what I have done with my three roommates from the last two years, and it has been a very nice experience.

My roommates and I talked about the fun things that each of us do with our families during the holidays and decided to bring some traditions to our room here at Baylor. For instance, we were all big on decorating the house, so we all pitched in some money, went out and bought a small Christmas tree, some lights and stockings to bring back to the dorm. We also talked about our favorite Christmas movies and shows and made out a schedule to watch some of them together. We’ve even started some new traditions just as roommates, which is neat in my opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, here’s the point. Bringing traditions from home and seeing what traditions your roommates have can be a cool experience. It’s fun to see the similarities and differences while also making your dorm/apartment feel more like home. The interesting thing to note is that the place you will live here, and Baylor in general, will become your home too. So, it only makes sense to bring traditions with you, but I also encourage you to make new traditions for your new home with the new people you live with. It makes this time of year so much more fun and rewarding. Not only do I have going home over winter break to look forward to, but I also get to look forward to walking into my room everyday because it really is home. And, there’s no place like home for the holidays.

The Joys of Roommates

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By Laura Teague

This week, I found a post on Facebook that was titled,“34 Things That Happen When You’re Best Friends with your Roommate.” While sometimes these lists are a little cheesy, this one was spot on. A couple of my personal favorites were “Your lives together become one big running inside joke” and “You purposefully buy food to share.” I have been so lucky to live with my best friend this year, and our friendship has gotten a lot stronger.

I met Jordan in my first freshman English class, which was held in Brooks Residential College. Come to find out, she was my next door neighbor, and we quickly became inseparable. Another part of the list was “You start realizing you don’t get invited somewhere without them,” which is so true. We have kind of become a package deal over the past three years. It’s gotten to the point where our friends will only text one of us if they have a question because they know we’ll most likely be together.

Jordan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to Jordan, I also live with two other girls, Kady and Christina. We all lived in the same hall for two years and have been through a lot together. Kady was one of the only girls who came back for recruitment our freshman year, and we spent a ton of time together that week and in the recruitment weeks since then.

Kady

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christina was Jordan’s roommate freshman year and was in the same English class. Now, she’s engaged! It’s exciting to go through this time in her life together. Since we are each from a different state, the four of us have become a family here in Texas.

Christina

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roommates are an amazing part of your college experience! Enjoy it while you can, and I hope all of you get to live with people you enjoy as much as I love living with my roommates.

 

Why Going Potluck is the Best

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By Courtney Roberts

Right after I graduated high school, I remember worrying about what to do for housing. I was full of anticipation for what lay ahead of me as a college freshman, but I was worried that I would get a roommate that I wouldn’t get along with. I like to think I can make friends with almost anyone, but hey, you never know.

I was originally supposed to room with a girl from high school, but, in July, I found out she decided not to come to Baylor. I was without a roommate for about a week, and then I got a call from Baylor telling me the name of my new roommate: Kristen Click. Honestly, I spent the rest of the summer being sort of indifferent about it. When I thought about sharing a room with a total stranger, I shrugged it off and assumed it would end up for the best. Little did I know that it would end up better than I had hoped!

The best part of this story is that Kristen and I became best friends. I’ll admit that I was surprised that we took to each other as quickly as we did. On some levels, we were opposites, and on others, we were a lot alike. We made the same friends, went to an Antioch Community Church lifegroup together, stayed up late doing homework and did all kinds of shenanigans together.

One of my favorite memories from our freshmen year was the infamous Christmas party we hosted during finals. We’re proud of the fact that people still talk about this party. But, I guess if you invite 70 people to your dorm room, it would seem pretty ridiculous, too.

What I loved about getting a potluck roommate was that I didn’t just make a great friend; I met my best friend. And, it didn’t stop after our freshman year. We still spend a lot of time together, and we still have just as much fun as we did three years ago. I’m glad that we’ll be friends for the long haul, and that’s something people don’t expect from potluck roommates!

All-University Sing (by Sophia Cooper)

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Baylor is full of unique traditions, starting off the year with Homecoming and ending with Dia Del Oso in April. Right now, we are wrapping up the 66th anniversary of All-University Sing. Organized by the Student Productions committee, any student organization has the opportunity to put on a 7-minute act of singing and dancing as part of the competition.

The costumes are outrageous and intricate, the themes develop well thought out, and the atmosphere is electric. Groups practice for hours every night from the start of second semester, perfecting their dances and vocals completely. Waco Hall stage is filled with hundreds of students for two February weekends, and tickets get sold out within days of opening.

Two of my roommates are in Alpha Delta Pi, one of the competing sororities. I have watched as sequins explode all over our living room on multiple occasions as Caroline fixed up her costume. Stephanie has spent hours teasing and hair spraying her hair into the perfect bun on top of her head as part of the theme for ADPi. Based off of the TLC show “Toddlers and Tiaras,” ADPi took the stage dressed as pageant queens, talent stars, and overprotective pageant moms. It was absolutely hilarious, and I am so proud of all the hard work they’ve put into their performance!

Want to read some reviews of Sing acts? Check our student newspaper’s reviews here!

“The Fellas” (by Sophia Cooper)

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My mom has a group of college friends known as “The Fellas.” I am on first-name basis with these guys (a big accomplishment in a household of “Mister” and “Missus”). I’ve grown up with their children, having play dates and goofing off at big family dinners. Looking at pictures of Mom with a 1970s perm, surrounded by these great nerdy guys, I wanted the same kind of college friendships. That’s when I realized it: the people I spend time with now will be my own group of “The Fellas” in 30 years.

I’ve known quite a few of my friends since Welcome Week. My friends Ryan, Sean, and I banded together to face Chapel and got lunch every Monday and Wednesday all of freshman year. Tannah and I have had multiple classes together every semester, becoming good friends and perfect study buddies. Kayla, Serge and I had every class together last spring and fall, and we decided to name ourselves “The Best Friends Club.” Lizzie, Erica and I were roommates on campus for two years, have classes together, and try to set aside time to get together just to chat and catch up. I spend a ridiculous amount of time with my current roommates Lydia, Stephanie, and Caroline, just laughing in our living room and making roomie dinner once a week. My boyfriend David and I have been friends since the beginning of freshman year, and he’s always the first person I turn to for everything.

These are just some of the people I hope to still be in touch with for the rest of my life. College is the time for late night study parties, too many hours in the lab, and so much laughter. My friendships from the past two and a half years have proved to be strong and true, helping me through many obstacles and celebrating many accomplishments. I am so excited to see what God has in store for my friends and myself as we work through our last year and a half together, and even more excited for what will come after graduation!

David and I

Lizzie and I

 

Tannah, Kalya, and I

Making Friends (by Kristen Ritch)

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When my friends went off to college, I saw them getting plugged into friend groups within the first week, and Instagramming everything right and left. But, when I got to college, I was kind of confused as to why people weren’t busting down walls to be my friend.

Okay, so, I’m lucky. I ended up with a normal roommate via potluck (I mean…she wears a fedora, but she wears it well, so it’s okay). I have at least one person in every class that I can commiserate with over the upcoming test or lack of will to study for aforementioned test. And I’m making friends with people I meet through other activities. So, here are a few how-to-have-a-good-college-experience-and-not-go-home-day-three-because-you-feel-lonely-and-school-is-hard tips.

  1. Take advantage of the first week of school. Seriously, everyone wants to be your friend, because everyone is the new kid. If you make sort of eye contact with someone from across the courtyard, you will be introduced. You might not remember their name, but there’s an opportunity for friendship there.
  2. Join things. It seems overwhelming, because everyone is pushing their club at you, but as soon as you see something that peaks your interest, try it out. You can always back out later (I mean, after one or two informational meetings. Don’t get in deep and leave the other guys hanging).
  3. Go to things. Baylor provides opportunities like the Baylor Freshman Retreat for you to get to know people through the Bobo Spiritual Life Center. Also, your hall will have movie nights or baking nights, which can be really fun. Any chance that you have to get to know people better? Do it, there’s really no risk.
  4. Smile and be friendly. Seriously, all it takes is some awkward eye contact and a smile and you’ll be friends. College is great because everyone is friendly. And Baylor is just the right size campus that you will see someone you know almost everywhere you go, but you’ll always meet someone new.
  5. Go to Line Camp and Welcome Week. If you’re like me, you don’t know that many people coming to Baylor. Sure, you know of some upperclassmen and there may be a couple of people from your hometown, but, in a school of 15,000, what are the odds that you see them? This is where Line Camp and Welcome Week come in handy! I had to choose between a mission trip to Africa and Line Camp, so I didn’t attend Line Camp, but those who did already have a group of people they can hang out with for the first two weeks when it hits home that, well, this is your new home.
  6. Meet the girls (or guys) on your hall. These are the girls you are going to awkwardly shower next to for the next two semesters, might as well get to know them. And it’s always nice to have a room to go to when you get locked out of yours (whoops).

Baylor has so many opportunities to meet other people, whether it be a fraternity, sorority, dance club, cultural organization, Honors program, BIC (Baylor Interdisciplinary Core), LLCs, or spiritual life organizations.

I joined a Youth Ministry Team (YMT) through the Bobo Spiritual Life Center, and basically, we go out into the community and help out with Disciple Nows, 5th quarters, and lock-ins. But you’re placed in a group with people you don’t necessarily already know, and are given the opportunity to meet a new group of people with similar interests. What are those called? Right, friends.

Locked Out of My Room – No Big Deal (by Grant Siluangkhot)

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Just the other night I had the pleasure of being outside of my room and without a key. After enjoying a night at Vertical Ministries’ worship service at Common Grounds (a homely coffee shop just right off campus), I entered Brooks College just as I usually would. This time, however, I couldn’t find my ID card. It wasn’t in my wallet. As I stood outside of the locked entrance to the guys’ side, I frantically searched my pockets and the ground but there was no sign of my card.  I was doomed. At least, it felt that way.

Imagine my surprise to realize that I was locked out!

 

I was lucky enough to have a floor-mate let me in. As I walked up the stairs, I checked my pockets again for my card. I could have dropped it anywhere from Common Grounds to Brooks, and I really didn’t want to go through the process of paying for and getting a new one.

I eventually stopped looking and convinced myself that it might have been in my room and that I just had forgotten to take it. When I got to my floor, I found out that none of my suitemates were in, so I decided to wait for one to get back. It’s a fairly simple process to go to the front desk and ask for an unlock code to a room, but I decided not to risk the embarrassment. Besides, I still had the option to wait.

Just over the past four weeks, I’ve gotten to make friends with many of my floor-mates, so there were plenty of people to visit. During this time, I used a computer to check my assignments, watched the ridiculous ending to a football game, and talked to a floor-mate who I never really got a chance to talk to before.

Before too long, I went back to my room, knocked, and my roommate let me in. You won’t guess what was on my desk. It was my ID card! It had been there waiting for me the whole time. I was relieved that I didn’t have to replace it, and now that I think about this experience, I’m glad that I was able to take a short break from studying to spend some time with my floor-mates.