It’s the “strong-independent-person” lifestyle, where “independence” won’t suffice in capturing the reality of being alone.
You wake up ten minutes before your class starts–consider yourself lucky if you manage to get up a full fifteen minutes early. This isn’t just you being lazy, but it’s the consequence of an all-nighter spent studying for three major quizzes, preparing two reports, and even working on an an organization deliverable in between.
A simple breakfast is enough: a packet of biscuits and a cup of coffee–not your first and definitely not your last. Either you walk to school because your dorm is nearby, or you go through lengths like the heavy traffic of Davao City trying and likely failing to catch your 7:30 AM class (you won’t make it).
Living alone was always a dream—to manage everything on your own, hold your time, and enjoy the freedom that comes with studying in a different city. Dreaming of that comfortable apartment with a jar of hope and motivation to study and work. But that’s not always the case—in fact, that’s not the case at all.
To be fair, dorm life isn’t that bad, especially when you live with people you get along with. You share your stored Century Tuna with just enough rice for everyone. You calculate the bills together, in shock as to why the electricity spiked but determined to keep it under PHP 500 by the end of the month. Rent should be paid punctually, though it often isn’t until the due date.. Eventually, you become friends with the guards and landlords as they deal with you and your late-night study sessions—opening gates or keeping you company in the common area.
With a new environment and lifestyle, here are tipid tips and tricks to help make dorm life bearable:
- Tag-Tipid meets Tag-GUTOM days
Finding a good karinderya nearby that serves home-cooked meals can save you a lot of money. It is best to stock groceries that last until the end of the month or until your allowance runs out.
- Yes, you do the cleaning!
Always try to clean your dorm especially before every term starts. Once prelim week begins, you won’t even have the time to process how messy you can get. And that will go on every hell week of the term, so clean before and after–because you wouldn’t actually know when hell week ends.
- Meet and Greet your housemates (sabi ni kuya)
As much as isolation and bed rotting is a tempting activity, it is also lovely to meet the people you live with–even if it’s just the same building. You never know when knocking on their door might come in handy for “penge ulam” moments.
- “Gud am mam/ser mangolekta na mi sa renta”
budgets can be tight, so save where you can. Pay bills as soon as possible and regulate the use of electricity.
Yet, even with all the freedom of living in a new city, we crave the comfort of our homes. And we also live through everything, especially the fact that homesickness can’t be cured by over-the-counter medicine. The only cure to it is that feeling of the smell of breakfast in the comfort of your home with your siblings yapping around and your mother asking for you to take the laundry. When high school friends are just one call away with no appointments need to be set.
Away from the bustling streets and traffic of the metro, one can only dream to be back where peace sets in the province.
Where you just survive college life and look forward to riding the bus after.
Where you continue to push through and submit and create and write and pass just so time can pass by quickly and it’s actually time for us to go back home.
Where being away from home is a form of sacrifice—expecting for a better future and wishing it will all be worth it in the end.
They say being a “dormer” is a start-up to adulting, as if living away from home instantly marks the leap into independence. But beyond the laundry piles and budgeting struggles, it’s truly a glimpse into the slow, messy, and meaningful process of growing up. It’s the time where you start looking out for yourself and juggling your academics and life balance. You get to learn more about yourself and explore daily life outside your bubble. It can be tough at times to deal with noise, cramped quarters, and the need to adjust to other personalities.
Nonetheless, new connections, a heightened sense of self-reliance, and priceless memories often exceed the challenges. The people we meet along the way could help the burden of the so-called “independence” we put on. We can’t exactly do everything alone. From the friendships we create during dinner after classes or asking for water when the dorm’s supply runs out—this phase of our lives isn’t just about standing alone, but it’s about creating lifelong bonds that carry us forward.