There comes a day when you have to "grow up" (or pretend to) and move all your important stuff into your own little dorm room and meet new people in your suite, floor, and hall. And then there comes the day when you have to say goodbye to all the cool people you met there and move out, knowing it will never be that way again. Then there comes the day where you really have to grow up, sign a lease, and move into a house with nine other people who you mostly don't know. Thus begin the tales of the Enchanted Palace.
I can see the window of Maple 155A, my old room, from the kitchen window. It's kind of weird. The first month or so of living here, I'd constantly think back to the days of 1stNorthSwag, and lament on how different living here is. In the dorms, everyone is taking the same classes as freshman. Now, I'm surrounded by people in different years, majors, classes, and save the three basement dwellers, am living with 6 girls. All these things terrified me (and some aspects still do). I had to adjust to taking 18 credit hours, so I started studying more than I did freshman year. I practically lived in Brown Building, the engineering building with great study rooms, frequently heating up dinner and bringing it across the street and eating it with my homework. Exhausted, I'd return to the EP and try to fall asleep.
I don't when when things started to change, but they did. Most of my housemates are really cool people, and as Marilyn said "I love the idea that I can have a social life without leaving the house!". So Mines. But really: we have a pretty good dynamic. Everyone has their awesome quirks, including the basement guys who are there to play cards or just talk until really late. We have our princess wall, Marie's cuss wall, and the quips of Michael.
It's really become a place that I can come back to and get support after an exam, even if no one is in my classes. A place where I can have a hear-to-heart conversation, even if I am a few years younger than everyone. A place where there are frequently cookies or cake, and nerdy talk abounds.
A palace of enchantment.
