Look I get it, life as a college kid can be tight on your bank account and of one the best ways to save money is not having your own place. Sharing a place with either friends, family, your better half, or 40-year-old Jon-Jon on Craigslist who hasn’t updated his Facebook profile picture since 2009 and smells like blue-cheese, can be a real hassle and annoyance in your life. I mean sharing a bathroom, kitchen, Netflix, and leftover pizza in the morning? Please, ain’t nobody got time for that. Plus, having your own place will be the dopest thing in your life when you finally get it. Not convinced? No worries, I have some reasons that may persuade you to side with me.

Solitude

If it wasn’t an obvious reason already, you have an entire apartment to yourself. This is your fortress of solitude; there’s nothing better than coming home to a place just like you left it, walking to the fridge and grabbing a cold yuengling (If you’re a douche, you’ll probably grab Busch Light), and stripping down to your briefs just to walk around aimlessly looking for your bowl. You can throw on some chill music, light some candles, shower and do your biology homework in peace. In my personal experience, it is much better to come home to complete silence vs. coming home to your German roommate (fully naked in downward dog position) performing oral sex on some Asian chick he met at sketchy party the night before…Yeah, picture coming home to that. Next topic!

Personalization

Having your own place means that you can personalize it to a tee. Whatever your interests are, you can show them through paint, pictures, and random home based items at Ross. To give an example, if you’re really into coffee, turn your kitchen into your own little coffee shop, if you love the beach—turn your bathroom into a beach themed spot, and if you love peace and relaxation—add some candles to your place and keep acoustic music on throughout the day. Keep in mind, nobody has say over whatever you want to do to your place; your apartment is an extension of your uniqueness.

Cleanliness

Living with someone who does not share your level of cleanliness can be really hard. For example, one time I walked into a friend’s place (four girls live there and one is filthy), after chugging a four loko and 5 beers I had to break my seal; so I stumble into the bathroom and stepped on bloody panties. As my friend Karl would say, “I was livid!” It turned out to be the filthy roommate’s and she embarrassed all the other girls that lived there. That may be an extreme case so I’ll point out some common problems between roommates that have different living habits—such as creating Mt. Everest from dirty dishes, leaving clothes on the floor, skipping showers and spraying cologne 12 times to cover up their vile body odor, or leaving food out for unwanted little friends to come explore. Moreover, whether you want to live clean or live dirty, it’s your place. Do whatever is comfortable for you. Welcome to the amazing world of pooping with the door open.

Untouched

“I can’t wait to eat this when I get home tonight!” It sounds so good and reassuring when you mutter theses word to yourself. That is until of course you come home after looking forward to it all day and it’s nowhere to be found. Don’t even bother asking your roommate because they have suddenly come down with short term memory loss and can’t seem to imagine what the fuck you could possibly be talking about, “What pasta, you had pasta?” It never stops at food either, you will find that you go through body wash products faster, “Misplace” things more, and you’ll probably find a shirt of yours in your roommates closet. If you have your own place you don’t have to worry about any of these things. Trust me, with Finals week, endless homework, and limited privacy, you will come to realize that ain’t nobody got time for that.

The most amazing thing about not having a roommate is the endless peace that you have. You can study without interruption, eat while reading a book, have projects set up in more than just your bedroom, and you don’t have to deal with random people in your house. Having a roommate could definitely hinder these things. So, if you’re having a troubling roomy situation or just want to experience pure freedom in your domicile, do yourself a favor and get your own place—you can thank me later.