-
I’m a junior at the University of California Berkeley, and I live in an off-campus house.
-
I share the seven bedrooms and three bathrooms with 11 other female students.
-
We’re all very social, host events, and hang out in our private backyard.
I’m a junior at the University of California Berkeley, studying political science. I live off-campus in a large house with 11 other female students.
Our single-family home was built in the early 1900s — and you can tell. The windows are single-paned, the doorknobs are difficult to turn, and the wooden floors are scratched and tarnished.
I met a girl subletting a room on Facebook Marketplace, and I moved in with her in this strange house. A random house has become my home, and a random group of girls has become my best friends.
I liked how my mom described the place when I first moved in: “It’s cozy; it’s got character.”
Take a look inside to see if you agree.
The house has seven bedrooms — two singles and five doubles.
The exterior of the off-campus house.Courtesy of Victoria Smitham
My 11 housemates and I make do with the limited space we have.
The center of our home is an old, broken piano.
The piano sits in the living room.Courtesy of Victoria Smitham
Before I moved in, the housemates allegedly found the piano on the side of the road. They rolled it uphill for multiple blocks.
My housemates play the piano frequently and use it for singing and dancing during parties — even though it’s missing some keys.
The busiest place in the house is always the kitchen.
The kitchen.Courtesy of Victoria Smitham
The kitchen is almost always bustling — thanks to the fact that all 12 girls share the space.
It’s a sociable spot, with music often playing and conversation flowing.
Every night, the kitchen is cleaned on a rotating cleaning schedule. Dishes are scrubbed and dried, counters are wiped, and floors are swept and mopped. It’s a strict system, with a $5 penalty incurred if you miss your night. You’d be surprised how strong of a motivator $5 is in a student house.
We’ve decorated the walls with student artwork.
Student artwork hangs on the walls.Courtesy of Victoria Smitham
The walls of our house are vibrantly decorated. This is thanks to my housemate Kelcey. Her work is posted throughout the space. Some members of the house are featured in her work, too.
The painting in our stairwell, for example, depicts an evening spent with friends in our living room.
The living room couch is where we hang out at night and host events.
The living room.Courtesy of Victoria Smitham
Our red couch — which was a Facebook Marketplace find — sags from us piling on top to watch movies and from guests who visit for dinner parties, talent shows, and mini concerts.
We spend most evenings here, watching “Sex and the City” for what must be the ninth time, playing games like Fishbowl, and eating our dinner.
The house has only three bathrooms for 12 girls.
The bathroom.Courtesy of Victoria Smitham
The downstairs bathroom is only used by three girls. It, unfortunately, clogs often.
I share my bathroom with three other girls. It’s modern and clean, but I hate our shower. The water pressure is weak, and it takes forever to get hot water.
Five girls share the third bathroom. It seems to be constantly in use.
The backyard is one of my favorite places and is another spot we host events.
The backyard.Courtesy of Victoria Smitham
The backyard is the calm away from the chaos of our house.
Some days, I spend the morning reading in a chair under the sun. On the weekends, I spend the night talking and cooking out there as we host a barbecue for our friends. The strings of lights are turned on, music is played, and conversation hums.
My bedroom is a former sunroom.
The author’s bedroom.Courtesy of Victoria Smitham
My bedroom is a double. Since it’s technically a sunroom, sunlight streams in, and I don’t need an alarm clock because I wake up with the sun.
Our room is quiet and peaceful, and from my bed, I can see our backyard. However, there is no direct access to the room, so I have to go through my housemate’s room to get to mine.
This can be an inconvenience, but small issues like this are part of student life.
My housemates have helped turn this place into a home.
The housemates gather for dinner.Courtesy of Victoria Smitham
The house, once strange, has become a comforting, routine place to return to after class.
The house may be now comforting to me, but it’s the girls who have made it my home. At one point they were all strangers, but they welcomed me into their lives, and I have never been so grateful.
Read the original article on Business Insider