The Advantages and Disadvantages of living in a Hostel

 

As a University Student, I have faced many problems early on because I moved to another city. I faced many challenges, which any student faces when they move to city hostels from their villages for studies.

Advantage: You get the opportunity to become responsible

Hostel life is difficult to manage because we are used to our elders doing everything for us. When you suddenly have to manage everything on your own i.e: finances, distress, sleep habits, and your daily routine you can easily despair and feel stressed. I suggest that you persist because living in a hostel you get the opportunity to do things on your own. For example, I learned how to manage the money I received from my parents. Moreover, you will get the opportunity to develop empathy, altruistic behavior, emotional stability as a hostel student. After living in a hostel during my university years I can confidently say that I can take care of myself.

Disadvantage: It is easy to lose yourself

The freedom of hostel leads many students to many bad activities I have seen many fellow hostelites putting themselves in bad company and ruining their lives. Since their parents are not there to check them, many students begin to smoke and spend excessively leading to financial issues. As a result, they may ask for money which their parents may not be able to provide them. This might lead them to earn money in such bad ways they have no idea about. At times it might be difficult for them to concentrate on their studies because they forget about their actual goals. As result, they get bad grades and disappoint their parents.

Advantage: You become a social person

Hostel life teaches you teamwork, helping your roommates, a sense of unity and adjustment, etc. In a hostel, a student comes in contact with a lot of other students of the same age and thinking. You also tend to acquire good qualities from roommates and other hostel mates at the same time. We can make friends according to our own thinking and interest and can spend some good quality time with them after their classes. As a hostel life student, one is not under the care of his family so he can develop a sense of self-independence. A student can take help from his roommates in their mutual subjects which helps them in getting good grades.

Disadvantage: Hostel Quality

A hostel can never provide you with the same facilities your house does. That said, no hostel is perfect and there will inevitably be some issues you will face whether you like it or not. Some issues that I have faced in almost every other hostel such as shortage of water early in the morning, dirty rooms, unhygienic food that upsets your stomach. Eating a good meal at a restaurant is very expensive. For people like me that do not belong to a rich family and have less financial support, it is very hard for me to go out to an expensive restaurant and eat a fresh meal.  

What I do to tackle common Hostel Problems

1.      Unhygienic Food: Whenever you visit home make sure to get yourself some home-cooked meals because it should not come as a surprise that food in a hostel mess is unhygienic big time.

2.      Bad Roommates: People in the hostel will take your stuff whether you like it or not accepting this rule that sharing is caring will make your day less stressful and more things we share is the reason more things we can borrow.

3.      Financial Issues: You never know when you will have no money to spend when you can’t keep a track of your money. Try to make some money at the beginning of a month and hide it somewhere safe so you can use it when you run short of money at the end of a month.

4.      Dressing Issues: Washing your clothes once a week you will learn to do all this on your own. Once you see your fellow hostel mates struggling with the same things you will know it will be all fine in the end.