There's a certain stress to housing,
one that you feel in your bones for
days prior and won't leave your
skeleton until a week later. No,
it's that special kind of stress.
Akin to a gambler having the cold
hard truth hit him. The odds are
not on your side my friend.
From floor plans that are often inaccurate
or impossible to read, to the knowledge
that singles are off limits to anyone but
seniors and freshmen. It's all a numbers
game, and the game is cruelty. The
desperation that sets in, when the screen,
it's condescending voice reads, "If no rooms are
displayed below, all single rooms are full."
The clock strikes 7:00 pm, then 8, then 9
as terrified people sit frozen by those words.
You could have just told us. We're not children.
Just tell us that singles are off limits to anyone
but seniors and those who must subject themselves
to the Accommodations Office. Just tell us,
so that we can all seriously look for a roommate.
In person I might add, not on a website that
doesn't work. No, I dare you, tell us. Because
we deserve to know the odds. Just because
anxiety doesn't count for anything with
Accommodations, doesn't mean it doesn't
exist. Tell us so we can prepare for the worst.
Tell us properly and clearly that an additional 10
slots will not change the outcome. So that we're
not hanging our dreams on a reality that will
never come, planning for a future that does
not exist. Instead all of that comes crashing
down, leaving only salt and silence. Because
in the end this was a numbers game, and
you know who always wins those.
And it's certainly
not us.
