The Freshman Hall Experience

Walking into Yates Hall at 7:30 am on August 20th (because of course my dad wanted to be the first one there) was, in my opinion, one of the most daunting experiences ever. My entire life was sitting on the sidewalk in front of my new dorm building as I scampered through the doors for the first time. There were so many questions swirling around in my head: what would my new roommate be like, will my hall think I am a total lunatic, how am I going to set up my room, and what in the world am I going to be subjected to during freshman orientation week. Oh, and let me tell you straight up- my freshman hall is the luxurious Yates basement, and honestly, I had never really been in a basement before, so that was going to be a whole new adventure in itself.

Move in day was filled with anxious parents and lugging stuff up and down stairs over and over. (Hint: right when you get to your room, move the beds and dressers before you bring in your stuff. It saves so much time and energy later, I promise. Oh, and Clorox. Clorox everything.) But then, slowly, everything started coming together! The room looked awesome, and I was learning the names of my fabulous new hall mates as we went to all of the orientation events. I think our official bonding moment was playing an impromptu game of Apples to Apples one night of orientation.

Now after two months at William and Mary, the Yatesment girls are as close as peanut butter and jelly. I can always count on my hall mates to be there to grab a bite to eat with me at the Caf and to annoy when I can’t possibly work any longer. My freshman hall has so much fun together, like the Coloring, Cookies, Sing-along to Mulan Party that we had last week.

Coming to college, I realized that every member of my hall was in the exact same position that I was. We all looked like a deer in headlights as our parents helped us move in all of our stuff that first day of school. All freshmen see this year as a fresh start, and are just as into making friends and meeting people. Your freshman hall is a group of girls or boys that will be with you through everything. Come to school with an open mind, ready to meet everyone, and be yourself. I guarantee that you will find friends ready to share with you the most ultimate of college experiences. Yatesment love <3