If you were to ask me my favorite dorm room from my entire time at St. Olaf, it would be the tiny room I occupied for two weeks on the second-highest floor in Thorson at the end of my summer before junior year (i.e. 2006). Now, if you know me, you know I like space, so you might think it strange that my favorite room happened to be the smallest. It probably helped that, during the summer, I have fewer possessions (and less of each possession, specifically referring to clothes), so in spite of the tininess of said room, I didn't have as much stuff in tow. But it was my space (it was a single room), and for the first time in my whole collegiate career, I didn't have to share anything with a roommate. I enjoyed the simple pleasures of having the desk in one corner, the bed by the window, and my two portable fans running all day long on top of my dresser. I wonder if, had I lived there for longer than two weeks, had more stuff, and had schoolwork on my plate, if I would have loved it as much. But that's no matter. Now you have the answer to, what was your favorite all-time college dorm room?
The other side to this storyline was that this was the room I moved into after my roommate issues hit a climax the previous week. In some ways this was quite a low in my life, and it also happened to accompany the reason for my having my favorite dorm room. Why does this story matter? Because right now, I have essentially my own apartment, arranged largely how I want it, and as a bonus I have the parking spot I coveted for a year. Hmm, "coveted" ... yeah, religiously that's a problem (spiritually, too). Materially I am quite satisfied in my living arrangements, but I also know that my living here like this accompanies another long-ish low stretch. I'm continuing to strike out in job-searching, my means for survival; and I'm at the very juncture where it's do-or-die for my continued habitation in my current dwelling. Meaning, I probably won't have my arrangement nor my parking space for much longer.
There has to be a lesson in this, or at least a connection. It seems I've been happier when my living conditions were less than ideal. Consider my junior year in college, which I personally claim as my best school year on the whole. My room was a constant mess, and I really didn't care much to clean it up. Last year, while working for AmeriCorps, I had one of the longest continuous high stretches of my life. I also lived in an extremely cramped space, with all my possessions either crammed into my 12x8 bedroom or a 6x4 plot right outside my bedroom. [Note, this last point is not a complaint, but rather an observation proving my point. And yes, I did actually measure the spaces.] So there's a connection between favorite spaces or arrangements, and rough life patches. And the lesson probably is, don't set your heart on "dream" living spaces. Problem is, if I actually manage to learn said lesson (and I'm not quite sure I want to), how do I go about making a personal change to accommodate it? Not sure if I really can... (thus explaining why I have doubts about accepting this as a possible lesson)
In other news, Paul Manz, the great composer of "E'en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come," ["http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNyLmy3ml5Q"] ["http://www.wfn.org/2009/10/msg00252.html"] passed on Wednesday. I've actually attended a few services at Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, one of the places he worked. Manz was one of the few living composers whose music I had sung as a kid (outside of compositions by my choir directors), as most of the others had already passed. He will be missed.
E'en so, Lord Jesus, quickly come,
and night shall be no more;
they need no light, nor lamp, nor sun,
for Christ will be their All!
--Ruth and Paul Manz