One of the reasons I chose the University of Delaware was for its campus. It is just the right size and has a cohesive and collegiate feel. The trees that line the long brick walkways and the historic buildings you pass along The Green make my experience here better. I love to show off the school when friends come to visit, and I’ve noticed that it is almost unavoidable to compare our campus to theirs; the restaurants, dorms, and academic buildings are all up for discussion, but what seems to be the most drastic difference is the size of the school and the commute students have to make. To friends from smaller schools, like UMBC, the walk to classes we are used to every day is shocking and tiring. In the same amount of time I can make it to Morris Library they could walk the entire length of their campus!
This year, in moving from Redding Hall to Sharp Hall, I now feel like I can have this conversation with myself. Despite my original expectations, changing where I live has made the University of Delaware feel entirely different. When I moved into Sharp Hall, I figured it would not be too much of a transition, that a dorm was a dorm, that I would never mind walking to Cesar Rodney Dining Hall, and that the slightly shorter walk to classes on The Green would not make much of a difference; I even refused to follow others’ leads when they chose dining plans that offered more points and less swipes in anticipation of purchasing more in Trabant (directly behind our building) than swiping in at CR (about a 10 minute walk.)
I quickly realized that not only would I miss newly built Redding Hall along with its integrated central air, large hallways, and considerable amount of study rooms, but I am now farther from the Harrington Pod, the Hen Zone, and CR. I miss being able to take a quick study break to play ping pong at the Hen Zone, and it takes a lot more motivation to grab a quick lunch or dinner at the dining hall.
This is, however, a tradeoff. I am now closer to Trabant and my classes on The Green. 8am classes are made much more pleasant when there is not a mile-long walk to dread. I also have discovered Trabant as a good place to sit and study, and find myself taking full advantage of the new late-night meal exchanges on campus now that I am 5 minutes from a Chick Fil A. I also cannot tell you how excited I am that my 20 minute walk to choir rehearsal is cut in half!
Changing my home on campus has changed how I live at the University of Delaware, but it will not change my appreciation for a walk along The Green or a journey up to beautiful North Campus. I am happy that a change in location has forced me to have a new perspective, and it makes me look forward to switching up my experience within these 2000 odd acres over the next three years.
