Community living, and Living in a Community

It seems like every time I find myself in the bathroom, I am reminded of the sometimes smelly implications of living in a community.
I think that community living is one of the greatest shaping and forming experiences of college. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, picture your family and then add a hundred or so more unique personalities into the picture: mix well. Yeah, I can see your faces contorting with horror... It's not as bad as you think! You will, however, quickly find out what people are made of, and how much experience they've had living with others prior to college.

I like to think of it like shoving a bunch of different fish into one relatively small fish tank, and hoping that not all of them turn out to be those Chinese fighting fish who try to kill other fish who invade their space! The community dynamics change drastically based on the floor you live on, the floor you spend most of your time on, and how much time you actually spend in the dorm. Things as simple as class schedules can change who you interact with, who you see, and at what time. A lot of times, time actually makes a huge difference in the relationship you have with others; you see, some people are nicer in the morning, and some people are nicer at night...you all know what I'm talking about, it all just depends on when you see them!

Naturally there are all kinds of people living in the dorm and so you really do get an idea of how you really are when you are constantly in close proximity to others. Not to mention living with someone and sleeping next to them every single night! Dorm rooms are the perfect venue for fun, or complete indifference: the beauty is that you can choose which you'd like to experience, and for myself, I know want to have fun, and that indifference is a pretty sad way to spend college.

I think this is part of the essential college experience: learning how to live with a couple hundred guys and not kill each other. And yes, there are difficult things about living with people, but that is just the way life is; I'd much rather focus on the positives: the quirky people on my floor, the weird patterns that occur with bathroom schedules, singing with my roommate at three in the morning, and enjoying college and the people God has put around me.

I love community living, because living in a community is always an adventure.

-Dave