I think it's my lack of responsibility that's kept me in the dorms all four years I've been here. Think about it: the only thing I have to do is my laundry and keep my one room relatively clean. I don't have to worry about paying my rent every month, nor do I have to think about cable, electric, Internet, and all those other utilities that I take for granted as a dorm-dweller.

All that stuff is taken care of in one simple bill in July. And I get to avoid the decidedly adult consequence of losing an important creature comfort if I forget to pay for it on time.

Which is not to say I can't handle any responsibility. I'm 21 -- I can take it. In fact, I lived in an apartment in State College last summer. And I had a great time enjoying the freedoms of apartment life. But I had a tough time juggling the three credits I took with all of the responsibilities mentioned above. I had to clean my toilet and kitchen and pay what seemed like an endless amount of bills. I couldn't even imagine having to keep track of all of these things while taking a full schedule of classes during the year.

It wasn't a hard decision for me to trade in the freedom of apartment life for the ease of dorm life when fall semester began.

Even the seemingly negative parts of dorm life have upsides. Sure, I live in a small box with a window. But that just means a smaller area to have to keep clean. And it's nice and cozy.

I reap extra benefits from studying, because those hard desk chairs are good for my posture. Now I feel lonely when I go home and take a shower in a private bathroom. The sense of community grows on you (even though I admittedly don't know anyone in my building).

Laziness has to be the other factor that contributed to my four years in the dorms. I went apartment hunting during my sophomore year but after one day of walking the cold streets looking for a home, I gave up. Luckily I was chosen to receive a housing contract.

And you can't beat the convenience of being close to your classes (unless you live in East Halls, which isn't close to anything). I live in West Halls and every one of my classes is within a five-minute walk. And I don't have to walk uphill in either direction.

This a transitional period, between living at home and being fully supported by our parents and living on our own and having to support ourselves. Why not ease into the process by staying in the dorms and only having to worry about taking care of your own basic needs?

I've lived almost everywhere on campus: from East to South to Pollock and now West. I've had roommates I've disliked; roommates I've been scared of; roommates I didn't talk to; and, for the last two years, no roommates. I've even gotten used to the three-week rotation of dining commons food -- in fact, during my sophomore year I had the rotation memorized. I knew that if the commons was serving parma fish for dinner on Sunday, there would be roast turkey on Monday. Dorm life provides countless examples of entertainment such as this.

Some of my dorm experiences have been miserable, but no more miserable than those of my apartment-dwelling peers.

Claiming University Park, Pa., 16802, as my address for the last four years has been a pretty good deal.

The status quo isn't so bad after all.