A Sophomore’s Reflection After a Year on Coro

In March of last year, my friends and I went through the dreaded process of Sophomore year housing. A tight-knit group of eight, practically from day one of Freshman year, we were far too confident in our prospects of securing a beautiful eight-man. Our dreams of non-communal bathrooms, a spacious common room, and huge fridge were endless. Unfortunately, we were in for a rude surprise when eight-man day came around. Not only did we miss out on getting a coveted suite on Lower, but we also failed to get pick times for blocked quads and a nine-man. Finally, we accepted our fate that we would be living in traditional dorms on Coro, especially given our absolutely gorgeous pick time of 7:45 PM on the last day of housing.

The week of Sophomore housing was filled with tearful hugs and sobbing phone calls to parents. Our visit to our future home in Welch quads honestly didn’t make us feel any better either. Even after nearly one year of living on Coro, the thought of an eight-man still stings. Honestly, it’s true that living on Coro will probably never live up to the experience of living on Lower. However, after a year of living in Welch, my friends and I have come to understand that your experience on Coro is determined by your attitude and effort. Living in Roncalli, Welch, and Williams can be a great living experience if you go into it with a good attitude.

Of course, that’s easier said than done. To say that the eight of us had a rough first semester would be an understatement. We felt lonely, isolated, and pessimistic about the rest of the year. It wasn’t a great feeling to hear everyone talking about their suites in Vandy while we were stuck all the way on Upper. Scrolling through Instagram on game days made us feel pathetic, and seeing our lonesome Bitmojis on Snapchat was just embarrassing. We were definitely not too happy about living on Coro, but this attitude definitely made our experience worse. We were stuck in a cycle of self-pity and comparison.

However, going into this spring semester, we vowed to have a change of heart and to make the most of the remaining months of our Sophomore year. Starting at the beginning of the semester, we began branching out more and making more friends who also lived on Upper. This semester, I have made so many new friends and grown closer with my roommates. Instead of isolating ourselves in self-pity, my friends and I have made an effort to get to know people on our hall and in the nearby dorms. If you live on Coro with a pessimistic attitude, you honestly will have a bad year. Yes, living on Coro is not ideal, but it’s important to move on from grieving what could have been and focus on how you can make your year a fun, memorable, and social one. At the end of the day, your experience on Coro is what you make of it.