10 Things You Will Understand If You Live In The Village At James Madison University

Living in The Village is never boring, sometimes a double-edged sword, and always an adventure. I think all of us can agree that living in The Village at James Madison University requires a certain type of person, and it’s definitely given us some very memorable memories. Here are just a few things that you would understand if you lived in the best place on campus.

1. THE HEAT

Flashbacks of early Fall semester and late Spring semester might have scarred you for life. It was almost better to just stay outside then go back to your dorm, which had actually turned itself into a sauna. Blankets were a NO GO, and fans blew straight at your bed, or you might’ve died from heat stroke. I remember sleeping on the floor a few times, actually. Nbd.

2. The music really never stops… ever.

Doesn’t matter if it’s 3pm or 3am or a Monday or a Friday or if it’s finals week or frog week, the music from that one room never stops. You know that room. The one with either one or all of these- some kind of flag, a political poster, a ridiculous sign, strobe lights, disco lights, any lights, something inflatable.

3. It can be like the quad.

Ok, not exactly like the quad, but pretty similar. When the weather’s nice, people are either playing volleyball, shooting hoops, throwing footballs, sunbathing, or putting up hammocks. It’s nice to have a mini-quad like area right in our backyards.

4. We’re in the best area.

We’re in the middle of everything, with Mr. Chips, the bookstore, and URec at our fingertips. Even though we still complain about walking to class, main campus and east campus are almost equidistant from our beds, and it’s perfect for those people who want to wake up 5-10 minutes before class and still make it.

5. Village pride!

For some of us, The Village wasn’t #1 on our list of places to live. I remember friends of mine saying “aw that sucks” when I told them which dorm I got. After that, I was nervous about living here, but now I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. We all know that feeling of asking someone where they live, and feeling a weird connection when they say The Village. I mean, of course we love it here, it’s the best.

6. Suites are lit.

Whether it’s decking them out with tapestries, cute chairs, or, for us, a Christmas tree, the suite is always a fun time. It’s a fun place to hang out with your suitemates and bond, or invite people over to, and having a space like that can be essential (ie. when your room is too hot to sleep in).

7. The study room tables are… interestingly shaped.

Yeah… You know what I’m talking about.

8. You’re used to hoards of people being outside your building.

There are two groups- the one’s in the afternoon casually talking, and the ones late at night, clearly back from a good ass night. Either way, you run into a group of people just chillin maybe 2-3 times a week, and most of the time you are just rolling out of bed trying to make that class you have in 5 minutes.

9. There is always someone in the TV lounge.

You hardly ever walk past those big glass walls and not see someone in the TV lounge either on their laptop, watching TV, or with their friends. Who can blame them?

10. You get greeted from windows.

You’ll either be walking to R7, class, or your dorm when you hear your named screamed from what seems like the sky. Then you look up, and your friends are pressing their faces to the screens of their window smiling. Window greetings are rare, but it’s bound to happen, and there’s something about them that leave you smiling.