In the summer of 2015 I was getting ready to go off to college, off to the University of Pennsylvania. I was extremely excited about my experience and could not wait to see where this new adventure would take me. In July I came across an article which featured the college house in which I would be living for the next year: Hill College House. Though I was aware that there would be issues with my house, I was still a bit shocked to see that it had made the New York Times list of “Dorms You’ll Never See On Your Campus Tour.”

When I arrived on campus, I understood some of what the article was talking about. It was late August, and the heat was excruciating. Of course, my new home had no air conditioning, and I was conveniently located on the top floor where the heat was the worst. My room was tiny and my stuff barely fit, but I made it work. I spent the next few weeks sleeping on top of my bed without any covers, the window perpetually open with four fans going between my roommate and me. The showers were small, and the water pressure was certainly subpar.

All of this was a bit daunting at first. After the second consecutive week of sleeping without any covers I began to wonder if I would ever be able to enjoy this place. There was, however, an upside to all of the suffering. The best part about all of this was that I was not suffering alone. Everyone in my hall, and everyone in my building for that matter, was going through the same thing. The uncomfortable conditions of our rooms forced us to seek other places to be, and for my hall, this meant that we would hang out in our study lounge. A certain undeniable bond was created through our shared struggles, and that bond expanded into a multitude of friendships, friendships which are now unbreakable.

Perhaps my hall mates and I would have all become friends without the pain of having to overcome our environment. Perhaps this would have been the case, but I am fully confident in saying that we are a lot closer because of our shared struggles. We all knew that we got the short end of the stick, especially as we were aware that we missed the renovations (which are to include air conditioning) by just one year. In any case, we learned to embrace the place we call home. A lot can be said about a place that is able to bring people together. If I could go back now and change where I lived for my freshman year, I would not change a thing. I love my home and all of the unfortunate characteristics that came with it.