Dorm Life Unfiltered: The Good, The Bad, and The Unexpected

Moving into a dorm for the first time wasn’t exactly the exciting start I had imagined.

I usually don’t adapt to places on the first day, and this experience was no different.

When I first arrived, it was already night, and only the security guy was around to hand me my keys.

The room he directed me to was small, and things only got worse when I went down to the cafeteria around 1 a.m.

There, I met three students—Khalid, Abdullah, and another guy whose name I’ve forgotten, though I do remember he was studying dentistry.

Khalid and Abdullah, like me, were first-year medical students, but I didn’t like them.

They didn’t seem trustworthy, and that only made me feel worse. After returning to my room, I couldn’t sleep until around 2 a.m.

The Social Side of Dorm Life

My first real introduction to dorm life began the morning after my arrival.

As I headed down to the dorm’s breakfast area, I met Hasan, one of the dorm employees.

He was warm and friendly, and after hearing that I was going to study medicine at BAU, he immediately introduced me to two other students who were also studying there.

One of them, Ali, became my best friend.

There was also another guy at the table, though I’ve forgotten his name—he was studying dentistry, not medicine.

After breakfast, I went to iron my shirt for the first-year orientation at medical school.

While ironing, Ali came up to me and suggested that we head to orientation together.

That’s when I found out he was a first-year student like me. Funny enough, when I first saw him at breakfast, I assumed he was a fourth-year student! Don’t ask me why—I don’t know either.

***Ali taking a Selfie of Us After 1st Block Exam***

Academic Life in the Dorm

When it came to studying, I didn’t really like the library in the dorm—it just didn’t have the right vibe for me.

So, more often than not, I’d head to the campus library, which was much better. The only downside was that it could get pretty crowded, especially during peak study times.

When that happened, I’d reluctantly return to the dorm’s library. Despite its flaws, it was quieter when I needed it to be.

Most of the time, Ali was with me. We used to study together, and having him around made the whole process a lot easier.

He was always up for long study sessions, whether it was in the bustling campus library or back in the dorm.

The Practical Side of Dorm Living

With the limited space in my dorm room, I kept things simple. I didn’t buy a lot of stuff—just the essentials.

My bed took up most of the space, and I had a small table where I placed my computer and other daily items.

There was another, even smaller drawer right beside my bed, which I used for extra storage.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to worry much about cleaning, since the dorm had a regular cleaning service.

As far as I remember, they came once or twice a week, usually on Wednesdays, which made it easier to keep the room in order.

Personal Growth in the Dorm

One of the things that helped me the most while living in the dorm was not having to worry about cooking or cleaning.

We had regular breakfast and dinner provided, and the dorm staff cleaned our rooms once or twice a week.

This freed me up to focus on my studies and social life without having to juggle household responsibilities.

There was also a curfew—we had to be back at the dorm by 11 or 11:30 p.m., sometimes as late as midnight.

However, the dorm security guard became close friends with me and Ali, so sometimes we managed to stay out even later with his help.

That extra bit of freedom made a big difference during those late-night hangouts.

Memorable Moments

One of the most unforgettable and chaotic nights of my dorm life happened right before an anatomy lab exam.

I had been studying hard all day and decided to sleep early, around 11 p.m., to wake up fresh the next morning.

But at 1 a.m., something strange happened—the security guard suddenly opened my door while I was sleeping.

I woke up in shock as he quickly closed the door and left.

Confused and frustrated, I got out of bed and went downstairs to figure out what was going on.

As I rode the elevator down, all I could think was, “What the hell just happened?” When I confronted the security guard, he apologized and tried to brush it off.

But I was too exhausted to deal with it further at the time, so I decided to return to my room and try to get some sleep. Unfortunately, I couldn’t shake the frustration and couldn’t fall back asleep.

After lying awake for a while, I went back downstairs to ask the guard why he had come into my room without permission.

This time, he got angry. He took off his jacket and started yelling at me. Things escalated quickly—he tried to throw a punch, but I dodged it and hit him back.

My punch landed on his forehead, and there was a lot of blood.

At that moment, a bunch of students who were in the cafeteria rushed in to break up the fight.

Abdullah and Khaled, the two guys I didn’t trust when I first met them, really came through for me.

Abdullah had been with me in the elevator, and Khaled was there talking with the guard when it all happened.

They stood by my side, helped calm me down, and even comforted me afterward.

Khaled, even though I’m not a smoker, gave me a cigarette to calm my nerves.

That night, I ended up making a lot of new friends—most of the people who separated us became close to me.

Abdullah and Khaled stayed with me the whole night, trying to comfort me, even though none of us got any sleep.

I went into my exam the next day completely exhausted.

Later, the dorm management reviewed the security footage, and it showed that the guard had attacked me first for no reason.

Fearing that I might sue them, they fired the guard. Although it wasn’t a fun memory, it’s definitely one of the most significant and strange nights of my dorm life.

It also changed my perspective of Abdullah and Khaled, who really showed themselves to be trustworthy friends that night.