This is my third year living in Taylor Hall. I continue to live there because I like the location, and I also get to live by myself.

After a bad roommate situation my freshman year, I decided this was probably the best decision for me.

People always ask me why I did not choose to move off campus after my freshman year, and it is an easy answer.

I am too involved. I have two on-campus jobs, I am involved in about 12 different RSOs, several of which I hold executive board positions in, and my friends also live on campus.

Between all of these obligations, I am usually on or around campus. So what is the point of living off campus if I am just going to be spending all my time here anyways?

That being said, I have had to deal with more than two years of obnoxious floor mates, disgusting bathrooms and loud, unwanted music at all hours of the day/night.

It is not hard to be respectful in the residence halls, but some people act like it’s impossible.

I understand that my neighbors do not know my schedule.

They do not know I work from 5 p.m. to midnight two nights a week, and they do not know this means I have to get my homework done during the day.

So can I really be annoyed when they blast their music at 2 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon with their door wide open?

Yes and no. Yes, because what is the point of that anyway?

Mostly no, because it is college. We are all adults, and we are all living in a shared space for the next eight months.

People have to be free to express themselves, but someone can still express themselves with their door shut.

In the evenings, there are quiet hours for a reason. My floor’s quiet hours start at 10 p.m. on weeknights, a reasonable time in my opinion.

But please, do not be that neighbor who utilizes non-quiet hours up until the clock changes from 9:59 to 10 p.m.

Have some respect for your neighbor who has probably been trying to study since 7 p.m. for that huge exam they have tomorrow.

My floor’s quiet hours end at 10 a.m. the next morning. You should not be blasting Fetty Wap during your 7 a.m. shower, and if I can hear your music from the shower or from your room from five doors down, something clearly needs to change.

Put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Would you want to be woken up at 7 a.m. by loud music or a slamming door? Probably not, so why would you do that to someone else?

And please, be courteous to your BSW. He or she puts up with a lot of nasty messes that he or she should not have to clean up. You’re an adult.

Rinse the toothpaste out of the sink, clean your hair off the shower walls and for the love of God, please flush the toilet.

Your RA should not have to post a sign in the bathroom as a reminder.

Sure, the residence halls have rules to keep people safe. But the residents need to have common sense to keep people sane.

Lauren McQueen is a junior journalism major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or lnmcqueen@eiu.edu.