The minute I signed that lease, I knew that the next year would be a challenge.

Two months into freshman year was all I really had to decide what my living arrangements for the following year would be. If I did want to choose an apartment (which I ultimately did), I had to move fast before I missed out on good options and before all my acquaintances found other people to live with.

So there I was, putting my initials and signature on every page of an apartment lease, preparing to live with three of my semi-friends at the time.

The commonality within Champaign-Urbana of choosing housing for the following year within the first semester puts us students — especially freshmen — in a difficult position. 

Despite the fact that we have until April to choose if we want to live in University dorms again, it’s hard to wait until the last minute to make that decision. Most of the nicer living spaces students want are booked fast — for both apartments and residence halls. 

Though I was able to obtain one of those nice apartments, how was I supposed to know that I could live well with girls I’d known for only about two or three months?

In an apartment, I will have to rely on these girls to pay their monthly bills on time, pitch a hand into housework and have the flexibility to work around all of our schedules. Living with other entails sharing a huge part of your life with them, and so making this decision after three months isn’t ideal. In a dorm, on the other hand, you’re surrounded by people and can change your room if anything becomes that large of an issue.

But regardless, I am signed into that apartment. And with that decision comes an immense amount of responsibility.

The living arrangements we choose for ourselves tend to reflect our readiness for responsibility — even if our decisions are hasty and we choose incorrectly.

As freshmen, we are sheltered in dormitories — with programs created to help us socialize and RAs to check in on us. Most of us have meal plans, meaning we don’t have to cook for ourselves. The most we have to do is keep our rooms tidy and do our laundry, things that we probably did at home, anyway.

With an apartment, however, we are given a taste of the real world, where we have to pay monthly bills, keep track of the water and electricity we use and cook for ourselves. Even though we may think we are ready for this responsibility, it could prove to be a burden when we have school assignments and extra curricular activities to focus on. Despite the perks of privacy, lowered costs and fewer restrictions in apartments, there are many skills needed to live so independently, and those skills (such as the previously mentioned cooking and bill paying), take time and maturity to learn.  

Even though my roommates and I are willing to learn those skills over summer, I still question my motivation for getting an apartment. In those first few months of college, I did not want to feel left out when I heard all my peers were getting apartments, so I signed up for one. While choosing my housing, I felt pressured to make a decision based on my friends — in other words, since they were getting apartments, I felt I would need to get one in order to fit in.

But with this decision, students need to acknowledge the responsibilities they are about to take on. In choosing my housing, I realized I had unconsciously signed up for growing up.

For those of you who do not feel ready to take on the challenges and responsibilities of an apartment, consider a dormitory or Greek house. Even though your friends may be in apartments, you might be comforted in knowing that you still have a little protection in these other living options. Moreover, you can visit your friends’ apartments and have them cook for you — a perk in and of itself.

Simran is a freshman in Media. She can be reached at [email protected].