#dorm-life

#dorm-life

"I could understand the language somewhat, but I was terrible about speaking it. My accent was terrible. People could not understand me," Deiaco-Smith said.

By that point in our relationship, Al and I recognized that we live completely opposite lifestyles at home. I like creature comforts and wanted my dream lakeside home in Portugal. Al was interested in becoming even more self-sufficient, living off-grid if possible. Al already owned about an acre of land in Portugal. He put a yurt on the land, and now lives there without running water and with only limited solar power.

"Turns out, Steve's brother...Tony, also went to the same college as I did, and in a similar department," X writes. "Steve then jokingly asked if I've ever met Tony or hooked up with him, to which I said honestly, \"probably not, since it's a big school\" and brushed it off since his name and description didn't ring a bell."

This year, I'm making my own celebrations and reaching my peak social potential by hosting at least one dinner party a month, going all out each time. First on my lineup is a Ham Party - I was just gifted a 12-pound hock, so I'm using it as an excuse to gather friends on a Sunday. The invitation I made features a tiny watercolor ham with a bow, the dress code is pink, and I'm serving French 75s and homemade sides.

Growing up with limited money, I always viewed college as a safety net, an investment that would set me up for immediate success. I started saving for tuition in high school, worked full-time in college to avoid student loans, earned straight A's, and did all I could think of to guarantee financial success. I felt financially secure for a short time, but everything changed when I graduated.

In my family, Sunday was always family dinner night. Whether the Packers earned another triumphant win, a swim meet went late, or a last-minute homework assignment loomed on Monday morning, that time to eat and enjoy each other's company was an appointment that could not be canceled. When my two boys headed off to college, Sundays became more subdued. Yes, my husband and I opened a bottle of wine and enjoyed our dinner leisurely, but I craved more.

A tweet can travel far, but it cannot spark a spontaneous conversation in the hallway. Conferences offer in-person engagement, but they are infrequent and often exclusive or too busy. Hanging a paper on your office door? That's immediate, local and quietly powerful. It is a symbolic gesture that brings your research into the physical space of the university, something rarely done in today's digital culture.

I bought my house in 1999 for $145,800, and there still are monthly payments on the home. Normally, within 30 years most people would have their homes paid off, but I had a little slip-up in 2008 when the market crashed. I went from a six-figure income to zero income. I depleted most of my financial resources to hang onto the home.

Although higher parental education is associated with stronger student outcomes over all, the report found significant variation in completion rates within each parental education category. Among applicants classified as first generation-defined as students whose parents did not complete a bachelor's degree-six-year completion rates range from 58 percent for students whose parents have no college experience to 78 percent for those whose parents both hold an associate degree, a 20-percentage-point gap.

Mold, flooding, and barely functioning heaters have plagued a Berkeley building housing low-income students, and owners are scrambling to sell or find a way to manage $9 million in repairs the apartment complex needs. City inspections confirm tenants' complaints that living in Evans Manor, owned by the Berkeley Student Cooperative, the largest student housing cooperative nationwide, presents a host of health concerns.

The survey measured belonging by asking students to rate their agreement with the statement "I feel that I am a part of [school]" on a five-point scale, where 1 means strongly disagree and 5 means strongly agree. Students who rated their sense of belonging in their second year one step higher on the five-point scale than they did in their first year-such as moving from neutral to agree-were 3.4 percentage points more likely to graduate within four years.

I met an incredible woman on a random outing to London while I was living life in slow motion, alone in a quiet English seaside town. I fell in love in a way that surprised me, both in its speed and its certainty. I knew it was her. The relationship unfolded across train rides, weekends, and the growing realization that what I thought was a temporary chapter in my life was quietly becoming its center.

"I feel like it was easier to connect with other transplants," she said. "Everyone seemed to revolve around hobby-based communities."

People say it takes a village to do difficult things: raise a child, sustain a community, build a barn. But we don't often talk a lot about what it takes to be a villager. What does it mean to not just be in a community, but to help create one? Priya Parker, author of The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters, says the key is to put yourself out there, even if it's scary.