My freshman dorm: Birnkrant

Oh, freshman year.  There’s nothing quite like the sense of wonderment, confusion, and non-stop fun that comes from going to college for the first time.  I will always remember that year fondly.

Nothing give you more nostalgia for that time than seeing your freshman dorm rising up above campus (mine, at least did).  I can’t fully describe the feelings I get when I pass by Birnkrant, my old haunting grounds, but I certainly do have some memories.

I lived on the 5th floor, affectionately dubbed BK5.  Move in day was August 18th (remember that off the top of my head, it’s a big day!).  Right off the bat, we 1) had our first meeting with our residential advisor (RA), and 2) got immediately ambushed by the sixth floor for a rousing game of human bowling.  Yes, it’s as awesome as it sounds.

The pins…

and the bowling ball.

Birnkrant was amazing for how much of a community it was.  Most of the rooms are doubles, and the floors had about 40 people- half guys, half girls.  Everyone on my floor kept their door open as much as possible, and spontaneous video game tournaments, Jersey Shore viewing parties, and “family dinner” trips to the dining hall across campus were plentiful.

My floor was so filled with awesome people, we all through in to get BK5 “fraternity” sweatshirts (Beta Kappa Phi-ve, wuddup).  There was never a dull moment.

But, maybe a little surprisingly, my floor knew when to hunker down and do work.  Midterm weeks would find everyone studying, and the halls relatively quiet.  I definitely felt like it was a pretty good balance- my grades and my relationships flourished.

Also, Birnkrant is located on McCarthy quad, which, while being across campus from Viterbi (it’s only like a 10 minute walk, still), is right by the libraries, social science buildings, and more importantly, most campus events.  The quad is where the campus has a bunch of foodtrucks, concerts, and cultural events throughout the year.  It’s awesome to walk outside and find something awesome just popped up!

I’ve definitely enjoyed living in my fraternity house since freshman year, but it’s hard to not look back and wish you could have that experience back.  And, as awesome as I made Birnkrant out to be, don’t forget that the thing that really makes any dorm awesome is the people and friendships that flourish there!  The reason why dorms are truly awesome is that every freshman is a little nervous.  But going through the experience of adjusting to a new world is what makes that year so awesome.