Before I get into the logistics of my dorm, let me explain how first-years are assigned their roommates.

Before starting your first year on campus, all students are sent a housing questionnaire asking about living habits, such as "What time do you sleep?" "What’s your favorite music to listen to?" and "How often do you clean?" Then, the first-year resident deans handpick your suitemates. This ensures that you end up with other students who have a similar living styles to you. Something I should also add is that students can make requests. I asked for roommates who spoke Spanish.

I lived on the fourth floor Straus Hall, which is located in the Yard. Harvard Yard is a where most, if not all, first-years live, with the exception of the Union dorms located on Prescott Street (typically reserved for overflow housing). I had two suitemates – Sarah and Melissa.
 

Our dorm had a single, a double, an ensuite bathroom and a nice common room. I personally like to think we lucked out. Why? Well, the living configurations can vary from building to building. Some of my friends had just one double and one common room and others had hallway doubles. Oh, and not everyone gets an ensuite bathroom, which some students prefer. (I wasn’t one of those).

My suitemates were kind enough to let me have the single, which was perfect since I like to have privacy. So, I had my own area for when I needed to be alone, and the common room for when I felt more social. Another aspect I liked about my suitemates was that we all had our own friend groups. Therefore, we never got tired of each other. After a long day with our other friends, we could still come home and talk about our day and such. Most of our conversations involved Saturday Night Live, Taylor Swift, and whatever Netflix show was hot at the moment. Our dynamic worked perfectly in my opinion. We each contributed to our conversations in different ways. With our different backgrounds and experiences, our conversations were always full of varying perspectives that made us even more interested in getting to know each other.
 

Some nights we would all just stay in and watch TV shows together. Other times we’d each do our own thing. My favorite memory with Sarah and Melissa was when we all went out and got Chinese food for dinner and then came home to watch a movie. Our common room was definitely the most used space in our dorm. (We all enjoyed rewatching Dance Moms!)
 

But after long social days, I knew I could always go to my room to settle down. I really liked my room not just because it was a space for me to relax, but because I had so many reminders of home. For example, on my walls, I had pictures of my family and friends from high school and even middle school. I had a letter board that read “I get my strength from my ancestors, and my motivation from the future generations.” I had lights on the slanted roof to give my room some warm lighting. But the best part was that I had privacy. I could call my parents and be as loud as I wanted (while being mindful of my suitemates of course).
 

I had a window that I always kept open because I love the smell of fresh air. My view was the traffic near Johnston gate which on occasion woke me up before my alarm. I could see the sunset, too! 
 

However, my desk wasn’t located in my bedroom; it was in the common room. I personally cannot study in libraries so most of my work was completed at my desk. Because we lived on the top floor, we had slanted roofs. I used the roof as a place for my sticky notes. It ensured I remembered to do everything on my to-do list. On my desk, I had a picture of my parents as they’re the reason I work so hard academically. I also had a monitor so that I could do have various tabs open for all the websites I needed. I had a bright lamp to make me feel as if I was under interrogation (I’m not sure how but it kept me focused). Overall, I loved my little set up as it really did help me!
 

Next year, I’ll be in Pforzheimer House. And while I am looking forward to becoming part of a house community, I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t miss Straus. It was truly the best first year dorm I could’ve asked for.