The Pros
1. No headphones.
One key to being a good roommate is to use headphones. But with having a single, you don’t have to worry about that at all. Want to watch Orange is the New Black at four am? Don’t bother to reach for the headphones, just relax. Want to listen to music while you get ready for your 8:30? Don’t have to worry about bothering a roommate. Please use them when you leave the room though.
2. Suns down? Pants down.
Pants are terrible. And after a long day of classes, the last thing you want is to have to subject yourself to more torture. And without a roommate being around, you dress however you want. You are under no obligation to wear pants and it is glorious.
3. Decorating.
You don’t have to worry about your roommate judging your posters or their stuff clashing with yours. It’s nice to have a space that is completely and totally your own, even if you’re away from home. So long as you’re not violating any dorm rules you can decorate it however you want. It’s nice to make it your little home away from home.
4. A little bit of privacy.
While you’re still in a dorm, you have a place where you can go to be alone. If you need to have a private conversation with a family member, you know that you always have a place for it. And sometimes being around people is exhausting. So it’s nice to have your own place to retreat to. You’ll also always have a quiet place to study, if you work best in your dorm.
5. No roommate.
Sometimes roommates are great. And sometimes they are terrible. Being a roommate usually requires some degree of consideration, unless you’re rude. In a single, you don’t have to worry about a roommate; you can just do whatever you want. With a single, you may not have the built in social aspect of having a roommate but no roommate is better than a bad one. You can always get your social interaction somewhere else. Hang out with friends, get involved in a club, create an imaginary friend, befriend people in your dorm, go to RA events, the possibilities are endless.
The Cons
1. Being responsible.
Living in a single makes it much more evident that you are “adult-ing,” meaning that you have to be personally responsible for your room and yourself. There’s nobody to make sure you don’t sleep through your 8:30’s, or someone to blame when your room is getting messy.
2. Lonely only’s.
The single life (single dorm life that is) makes you realize how important friends and family are. You pretty much always come back to an empty room, which can get isolating if you let it. A good rule of thumb is to make sure you talk to (or at least text) one other person a day.
3. #HermitLife.
It can be extremely easy to not leave your room for a couple days. Obviously, as fun as it is to binge watch Netflix and eat junk foods without getting any Vitamin D or socialization, it’s not exactly the most healthy. You do you, but just keep in mind that your friends are probably wondering if you died…
4. Networking? More like Netflix.
Due to not leaving your room for days at a time, you’re missing out on meeting new people on the reg. Whereas if you had a roommate you’d probably be meeting their friends, or hanging out with them and new people. Also, if you’re ‘supa fly’ but also ‘supa shy’, you’re probably nervous about going up to people on your floor by yourself (so there goes having new dorm friends).
5. Roomie can you… Oh wait.
We’ve all been there. You just got into bed, you’re all cozy and warm. But you forgot to turn off the light. Or you forgot your water bottle on your desk. Or anything that you are way too lazy to get up and do yourself. If you had a roommate, they may just be nice enough to turn off the light, or get your water bottle. However, you do not. So you have to leave your bed. The struggle is real.
Living in a single can be a really awesome idea, just remember to take care of yourself.