My new apartment

Katie D.

September 9, 2011 - 5:51 PM

Here I am, writing from my new apartment in Eugene! My furniture is all moved in, my clothes are in the new closet, and I have puzzled through how to fit various kitchen items into a tiny space. I love this place: it's a little loft apartment, with a skylight and a formerly-functioning, now decorative fireplace. It's close to campus, set off the street, and is completely mine. For the first time, I'm living without roommates and without shared space. I'm settling down and going solo.

I have never lived alone before. I moved from my parents' house into the UO dorms, and then into an apartment spitting distance from campus with three friends, and then into a house with three roommates. This is probably a familiar pattern for college students: learning to live without constant parental support is a strange thing. First you have to learn to do your own chores (probably while negotiating with a dorm roommate about your shared space). Then you end up in an apartment and suddenly have to shop for groceries, pay rent on time, and schlep your clothes to a laundry facility. Then you want a house, with more space for having friends over and for trying grownup things like cooking real meals.

I loved living with roommates for 96% of these five years. I loved having friends around all the time, and the spontaneous and goofy hangouts that happened regularly. Then last year, it suddenly wasn't fun any more. It was frustrating and complicated and annoying. I started to need to know when strangers would be in my living room, and became disproportionally obsessed with other people's messes. My roommates were wonderful people, but something shifted for me that meant their quirks were suddenly problems. I had to get out.

I have already learned some surprising things about myself in this new space. One is a huge positive: that some of the mental energy that was sapped by small roommate conflicts and messes is now being directed into my own projects and goals. I've also been surprised by some obvious solo-living consequences. Only my stuff is decorating the walls. I don't have access to any spices or dishes I haven't supplied myself. If I lock myself out, I've got a real problem. I also discovered, to my dismay, that there is no one else to blame when I misplace things: it's just misplaced. I spent almost ten minutes today circling my apartment, searching for the book I had had in my hand just moments ago. It was infuriating, and there was only myself to blame (I finally found it, cleverly hidden behind my computer).

But the truth is, I love this new place. I loved moving in my boxes and furniture. I loved unpacking the nine boxes of books and placing them on their shelves. I loved pulling out all my clothes, after an entire summer of only having access to the seven shirts I brought with me to Honduras. I can listen to my podcasts and not bother anyone, and I can have complete silence whenever I want.

I hope that this space will be a launching-point for this year. I hope I'll find it a peaceful and inspiring place to write my thesis. I hope I'll use its location to allow for more spontaneity, and that I'll take frequent trips out with friends. With the time I've cut out of my commute (what used to be a 40 minute walk is now less than ten), I hope I'll be able to spend more time on important activities and on hanging out with friends. I have space for crafts and workouts and spread-out research projects.

I'm almost done arranging my space. There are still a couple of blank spaces on the walls, and a couple of essential furniture acquisitions still pending. Hopefully next week I can post a video tour of my new place. So stay tuned!