What I did with my dingle this year
Perhaps surprisingly, nothing much
As a freshman moving into the newly-renovated dorm East Campus, I expected a pretty nice room that I would be happy with coming back to after a long day of work. What I did not expect, however, was the additional plus of my room being a dingle.
Before coming to college, I had never heard of the term “dingle,” a portmanteau of “double” and “single,” but apparently, it means a room for two people with only one assigned occupant. It sounds silly, but perhaps less so than “souble” (or maybe “dingle” sounds less silly just because it’s used more). Nonetheless, I was very surprised to not end up having a roommate, because not only was I in a new building, but also I was on Fifth West, a popular floor.
Needless to say, I had very few complaints about living in a dingle. From what I’m aware, it is pretty uncommon for freshmen to have a single (unless you’re living in MacGregor, a dorm with predominantly single rooms), so a lot of people were pushing me to do something with that extra space. Perhaps I could push the two mattresses together! Or maybe loft my bed so I could have a cozy couch (sourced from Facebook Marketplace) underneath. I could decorate the room to my heart’s content.
But in the end, I ended up doing nothing.
I think this choice speaks to who I am; my room just ended up being a place where I went to sleep. The most decor I had was on my door: over two dozen (empty) CharlieCards, an embroidery project, Polaroids of me and my friends, and an assortment of memes. Inside my room, all I had were birthday cards from friends and family, along with wall art of cardstock butterflies — also a birthday gift.
I took pride in the bareness of my room. Every time I invited friends over, they would always be quite surprised that the room looked like I was preparing to move out the next day. Sometimes, the people I hosted — whether for Math Prize for Girls or for CPW — brought more items than the possessions I had outside my wardrobe and cabinet. While I sometimes wished I had fairy lights, posters, or other decor, I would always think about how I would have to pack these items up when I later moved out. Hence, I lived vicariously through my friends’ rooms, who had a furnished shelf just for shoes, snake plushies adorning their window, or vines taped up neatly along their wardrobe.
Despite not having to pack too much at the end of the year, the bareness did get to me sometimes. Eventually, I felt a little lonely whenever I was in my room, to the point that whenever I tried to work in it, I would spiral and crash out from staring at the barren, white walls.
But when I opened my door to the outside, I’d see the Silksong mural I was working on with my friends; the LEDs lining the walls, installed by our legendary Course 6-2 senior; and the cats that were always so friendly and approachable.
Which is why I’m so excited for a roommate next year!
Maybe I will still barely decorate my room. Perhaps my only contribution to the door of me and my future roommate’s door will be the overwhelming number of CharlieCards. Or we’ll end up going all out, causing a complete character shift in me. Only time will tell.