Over the last few months, things have been brewing in the Residence Hall of Penn State McKeesport. A lot of the incidents that have been going on in the dorms are preventable.
  All of the students in the dorms were given a handbook stating what they are and are not allowed to do in the Residence Hall. If you violate the rules, then you have no one to blame but yourself. All that I have been hearing from students over the last few weeks is that if they are paying to live here, they are going to do what they want. That is not always the case; actually, it is not the case at all. You may be living in the Residence Hall, but once again, that does not mean that you do not have to abide by the rules that were set before you. You cannot play your music on 10 after 8 p.m., and you know that if you do and are reported, you will be written up.
  What some of the students need to learn is that when you are written up, it is nothing that is truly personal to you; you are doing something that you were told not to do. Obviously, someone was mad because your music was turned up that loud. That is a form of disrespect. Running up and down the halls at 3 and 4 a.m. arguing and slamming doors ... that is just childish. You may have some freedom here, but that does not mean that you should act like a fool. Now, on the nights that you are asleep and someone is making noise, you get mad, right? Well, then you know that you are in the wrong. You were given your dorm room and your room only. You mind your room, and everyone else will mind there's.
  Another thing that I have realized is that you cannot carry on with an attitude while you are here. This is not high school. You do not have your mother to defend you all of the time when someone gets on your nerves or when they do something that you do not like. You are an adult now, fight your own battles.
   Now is the time to learn from you mistakes and learn to make the right decisions the next time around. There are people here that are willing to help you. I am sure that half of the students in the dorms do not even know who I am, but if they were to ask me for help, I would help if I could. If you need to talk to a sophomore about the way that things work, then so be it. But, do not take your anger out on the world, because of something that you did that you know was wrong. Everything boils down to the use of common sense. Obviously, some people are passing up what should be common and looking for the more difficult when they don't need to.
  Sitting in Bible study recently and listening to some of my fellow students talk, made me realize something: being in college is not something that is always portrayed in a positive light. I know that in high school, all of my teachers told me to go for my education and to party. They also told me that it would be the best four years of my life. But in college, you have so many more obstacles and temptations. Sometimes, you may be fighting a pointless battle with yourself, because you are trying to do something that you know is not best for you as a person.
  It is all about better judgment for yourself. You know the right decisions that you need to make, and you know what is best for you. Don't try to get mad and say that people are "hating" you, most of us have been there before and are trying to stop you before it is too late. Stop thinking about yourself and think about the other people around you. Treat everyone the way that you would like to be treated and the dorms will be a much happier place for us all to live.