"Let me know" is a rubric for our readers' stories. Every week we launch a survey and are waiting for your comments. Recently, a freshman girl wrote to our editorial office with a request to share life hacks that will help to arrange life in a student dormitory. You gave a lot of advice relevant to our reader and many other students. We collected them in this material.
When parents do not need to show their school diary and report on their movements, there is an opportunity to try everything that has been forbidden at home for so long: going to clubs, smoking, walking couples.
However, it is important not to lose your head. Greater freedom also means greater responsibility. To fulfill the cherished dreams for which you came to a new city, you will have to learn how to manage your time, plan finances, organize everyday life and maintain order in the room.
This does not mean at all that you need to become a "boring adult" and forget about all the delights of student life. As always, strength is in balance. Yes, you can skip an unloved subject a couple of times, but going headlong into a week—long carouse is not the best idea.
If you haven't smoked or drunk, then it's better not to start. It's easy to get into a bad habit, but it's difficult to get rid of it later. And yes, if every day at recess you go out to smoke for the company, it's worth admitting: you smoke, not just indulge.
Most often quarrels between neighbors happen because of everyday problems. To avoid this, it is worth discussing in advance the rules that will help maintain order and cleanliness in the room. To do this:
Silence is a value when you constantly live in the same room with other people. So that you have the opportunity to concentrate on your business and relax from the noise, set a time during which each of you will try to behave quietly: do not talk, watch movies or listen to music with headphones.
If your university has internal organizations that cooperate with the administration of the hostel, then you can try to join them. This will bring you closer to the management.
At one time I was the head of the floor. I had a good relationship with the commandant, so after the second year I was able to move into a room for one person. At the same time, it was not necessary to strain too much. It was only necessary to report the news to the neighbors on the floor and check the rooms once a month for cleanliness. This system does not work in all dormitories. But if in yours — yes, then I advise you to grab the opportunity by the tail.
If you don't have time for such activities, just try to maintain good relations with the commandants and guards — stay friendly and always say hello.
"Dead souls" are people who have the right to live in a hostel, but due to some circumstances do not live there. For example, they came from another city and rent an apartment. If you agree with them to move into one room, you will get a free bed and, perhaps, you will be able to live in a room alone at all.
Each of us is guided by his own life principles and guidelines. To avoid conflicts, you should respect the people you live with. Perhaps they had a completely different way of life in their family or they grew up in a different culture ‑ this does not give rise to insults. If you are uncomfortable with the actions of a neighbor, calmly talk about it and try to find a solution to the problem together, without getting personal.
The hostel is a good place for part—time work. For example, if you have a printer, you can advertise in student groups that you are printing a page for 5-10 rubles. You won't earn millions on this, but there will be enough for lunch in the dining room. Especially in the periods before the sessions, when everyone is chasing teachers to finish their essays.
When I lived in a dorm, I did manicures for the girls next door. They told their girlfriends about me, and as a result, I consistently had 3-4 clients a week. It was a good sum.
Buying ready—made food is quite an expensive event. If the money that your parents send you is not enough, it is better to reconsider your eating habits and cook on your own. There are many simple recipes that even beginners in the kitchen can do.
This approach also increases the chances of eating right: fast food and semi-finished products are less useful than light chicken soup or buckwheat with vegetables. And if your diet coincides with the diets of your neighbors, then it makes sense to cooperate and cook food in turn. This will reduce the time spent at the stove and possibly reduce the cost of the dish.