Off-campus housing this year was a scramble.
If you’re not familiar, Oberlin encourages students to live on-campus for all four years of college. There are alternatives to traditional dormitory housing. You can live in a cooperative (a house where residents clean and organize programming for each other), village housing (apartment-style housing managed by the college), or off-campus housing (housing or apartments managed by landlords). Many fourth-years try to live off campus for their final year as it reduces costs and offers a more adult-like experience.
Like many fourth-years, I entered the off-campus lottery. After rejection from the first round of off-campus placements, I tearfully emailed the ResLife staff. “Being able to live with my friends in my final year at Oberlin College would significantly enhance my experience and time here,” I wrote, continuing, “and I would love to cover it in my work at the Office of Communications.”
Wow. You can say many things about me, but you can’t say I’m not opportunistic.
During the second round (and likely entirely dependent from my rather desperate email), I was placed in off-campus housing. My two friends and I banded together and found Scott, our landlord, and a three-person house he was leasing. We weren’t exactly looking for many things in the house. In fact, we had only one value in mind: cheap. Old maroon house from the 1870s, meet Natalie.
After dotting our i's and crossing our t's, we prepared to move in. In August, we first entered the house that would become our home. (Cue: awww.)
Our little maroon house wasn’t perfect, which was precisely why I fell in love with it. It was long, narrow, and creaky. There was a porch with an overstuffed couch, a backyard with a strange tombstone, and hammocks crawling with ants. In the afternoon, golden sunlight poured into our kitchen. At night, the house shuddered and heat drafted up from Victorian metal floor grates. There was a Jesus painting in our living room and a six-inch cross hung from a golden chain in my room. Of course, it wasn’t perfect. It was better––it was ours.
Our first order of business was to decorate. As college students, it was basically court-mandated to hang up cheap string lights and scatter Smiskis over our house. We fell into roles within our house quickly. Anna always put away our shoes, and Elyssa did the dishes, and I… vacuumed. Occasionally.
Our second order of business was to organize our first dinner party. If you haven’t read my blog on my dinner parties, you should. (I’m sorry not sorry for the self plug.)
Here was the thing––we wanted a home that felt welcome to come back to. A kind of house where––when you went to your real home––you thought about coming back to the maroon house. We wanted a place where we could do homework, host get-togethers, cook dinner and dessert. We wanted a place where we couldn’t hear drunk first-years on a Saturday night. Our home checked every box.
As you look ahead in your years at Oberlin (or back!), I hope housing finds a fond place in your heart. I’ve lived in Kahn Hall (#sustainability), French House (#ouioui), and Johnson House as a Resident Assistant (#jewish). Of all the places, I think my favorite must be my off-campus house. I hope all students have the opportunity to live off-campus and, if not, I hope you find a place that you can call home.
