Category: Ellie

After three years of living on campus at Boston University, this is the first year I have been able to live with all five of my closest friends. Everyone knows living with your favorite people on campus is the dream and crucial to the college experience. However, there will always be challenges with friends, especially if you all live together. So here are some tips to make the best out of living with the people you love most at Boston University.

 

Create a Chore Wheel

No one loves telling someone to do something, especially chores. So a great and fun way to keep your living arrangements clean and tidy is by creating a chore wheel. 

 

Have a Weekly Show/Movie Night

School can be very busy and it will often feel like you never get to see your friends. A way to combat that feeling is to have something your group can watch every week. It’s a great way to wind down and can be a great reward after a bunch of homework.

 

Respect Alone Time

Something really important when living with your friends is understanding that alone time is a good thing. Sometimes you just need time to read a book, watch a movie, or hang out by yourself. Your friends won’t mind and will appreciate you being in your best mood.

 

Be Open to New Things

Sometimes it’s a good thing to branch out from the usual day-to-day things. Whether this be new people, activities, foods, or entertainment there are so many ways to spice up your life. This will help keep you from getting bored or annoyed with the people you see every day. 

 

Decorate to Match Your Group

This is a very simple thing that allows you and your group to work collaboratively to make your housing feel like home. Add your favorite movie posters or quirky inside jokes. Overall, make the rooms feel like your friendship.

 

These are just a few of the tricks that can be used to make living with your friends the best experience of your college career.

 

When I first came to Boston University I found it hard to find an outlet to give back to the community. I was lucky enough to be a part of FYSOP my first semester. FYSOP is the first-year student outreach program. It’s a great opportunity to find different organizations around campus that strive to help different aspects of the community. I also found that FYSOP helped me and other first-years learn more about Boston and integrate with the city. When I was in FYSOP I was part of the food justice initiative. Food justice was interesting because it was one of the programs that had the most physical labor. I cooked food in a kitchen, worked on a farm, and managed a food pantry in Cambridge. It was all a lot of fun and I made a lot of friends through this program. It also got me back into finding opportunities to give back to the community, because the best part of FYSOP was the warm feeling you get when you help others.

I am currently a member of LIME. LIME or Learn, Inspire, Mento, & Empower is a student-run organization at Boston University. This is one of BU’s many mentoring programs. In LIME I mentor a local high school girl. What I like about mentoring is it allows me to look at my past and analyze what I should have done differently in high school. But it also allows me to move forward and help someone younger learn from my mistakes. The best part of LIME and mentoring is similar to what made FYSOP so special. It provides me with a great opportunity to give back. There are many ways to give back at BU these are just a few examples, but the community is a core value at Boston University.