What a difference a year really does make. At this time last year, I was in the process of meeting and bonding with some of my now closest friends on campus. Waterbury Hall certainly didn’t disappoint when it came to having a welcoming and judgment free atmosphere to come back to very day.

One of my best friends from high school lived right down the hall from me so, virtually, the entire third floor of Waterbury would all hang out there during the day and into the night.

We would all play video games, share stories with each other and play board games in big groups in the basement on the weekends. Some of the best times I’ve had since coming to Oswego have been in Waterbury, specifically on the third floor where I lived. However, now, that time is all but behind us.

With the impending construction of Waterbury beginning in the spring semester of 2015, none of us were willing to stay for only one more semester and have to completely move out in December.

We hadn’t exactly thought about where we were all going to live next until it came time to pick a new destination at the end of the 2013-2014 school year. Some had everything already planned out as to where they would call home next year. Others, like me, were still very unsure as to where would be a good fit.

I wanted to stay close to where my friends would be living, but there was a problem with that: they had no idea where they would be staying until the last minute either.

I ultimately elected to go with Seneca for something new and because my girlfriend had informed me she would be living there. This meant I would be taking my chances with another random roommate. My first roommate from Waterbury and I got along fine, but I wasn’t as confident the second time around.

One thing led to another, and I ended up exiting out of Seneca a day later in favor of having my own room in Lonis for my senior year.

Fast forward to present day, and here I am. The community here is nothing to complain about by any stretch, but I think I share in the opinion of most occupants of Waterbury when I say that I wouldn’t have minded one more year in that building.

The rest of my friends have scattered all over campus, contrary to what I hoped would happen. From Cayuga to Onondaga and from Funnelle to the Village, it has made hanging out and even seeing most of my friends much more difficult.

Before, I would see them on a daily basis in the halls and the lobby of Waterbury. Now, I’m lucky if we can set up a time for more than two of us to all hang out at once.

It is still early in the year and things will hopefully change for the better, but one more full year in Waterbury would’ve made senior year that much better.