First-Time Renter

Fall 2019 is the first season I’m living off-campus at ONU. As a first-time home renter, there were plenty of challenges I’d never faced before. There are things I don’t have to take care like any incidents with the AC or water heater, there are also issues which don’t get fixed because they’re on the landlord's list. Here’s an idea of what I’m working with: This summer, a bird found its way into the house. None of the roommates or I were present and the bird took his time fouling up the place. Eventually one of my friends made his way back to Ada. The bird died while no one was around. Even with the house free of a tyrannical reign, the smell stuck around until I scrubbed the walls and cleaned the curtains.

It turns out there was a hole in the siding. I don’t know if I would catch things like minor damage, but it makes me think about owning a home. It’s nice to have a place feel like it’s yours, but most people tolerate the little things when renting. Things like the door without a top hinge or the nails in the bottom of door transitions from carpet to hardwood. I made the decision to fix as many of these minor projects as I could while on a budget. After all, I still want the place to feel like home.

I had to get creative. There was a bunch of cardboard and foam from a desk I bought and so I got to work. We now have a cardboard barrier where the birds got in and I filled the spots in the floor with Styrofoam and cover it with cardboard to keep my feet safe. It may sound strange, but when there are bigger issues like a crack in my window, I’d rather use my landlord’s resources to fix those. All the other ONU seniors, what’s your worst apartment mishap? Hopefully it didn’t smell as bad.