Living in the college dorms was one of the most exciting, fun times of my life. I absolutely loved living with hundreds of people inside the same building. Although it was a big pain in the ass sometimes, it was nice having so many people around because it made the dorms a fun environment. It was cool knowing that at least one out of the hundreds of students would be down to go do something if I was ever feeling bored or needed company. If I wanted to go grab some fish tacos on a Tuesday night, I knew Kevin from down the hall would be down to roll with me. If I wanted to hit the gym, I knew Chad the Meathead would be down to workout with me. If I ever wanted to go to the library to grab a book, I knew Suzy would be down to walk there with me. All of these people made living in the dorms super fun, and there was never a boring day…..except on the days where it rained. The rain was the only thing that could put a stop to all of our exciting plans. Although the rain did a good job in dampening our plans, we still found ways to spend that time productively while also having some fun. Here are some fun ways I spent my rainy days in the dorms!
1.) Exercise Indoors
It was during my dorm days where I started to put a lot of focus into my health and fitness. After I gained about 20+ lbs during my first month in the dorms, I started exercising all the time. On rainy days, I would still find ways to burn some calories. I would do the obvious push ups and sit ups, but it was the cardio that made me get creative. Out of all the indoor cardio workouts that I’ve tried, I think shadow boxing was the most effective one. I was able to learn how to defend myself, while burning calories. If you’re looking for a good indoor cardio workout, I highly suggest shadow boxing. What started off as a workout that I only did on rainy days, turned into a workout that I try to do every single day.
Another fun cardio workout I would do is play ping pong in the game room that we had in our dorm building. There is a good chance that your dorm probably has a few ping pong tables too. If so, you should grab a buddy and go play together. It’s a fun way to workout, while not even realizing you’re working out.
2.) Passion Projects
I don’t know why, but something about the sound of rain outside makes it easier for me to focus. I like to use rainy days to work on some of my side projects. One of the things that I’m working on at the moment is this blog. I also like writing poems. The rain and Jack Johnson playing in the background is the perfect combo to write some deep poems. If you’re already limited on what you can do because of the rain, you might as well just hunker down at your desk and start being productive on projects that you were working on. This might be a good time to start on a passion project too.
3.) Games
One of the most memorable activities that we did in the dorms on rainy days was playing Nintendo Switch. It’s rare when all of the residents are in the dormitory at the same time, and rainy days would usually be the only times where it would bring almost everyone together. Rainy days were also the days where I can showcase my Super Smash Bros skills and virtually kick everyones’ ass. This colorful piece of hardware called the Nintendo Switch made our friendship in the dorms a lot stronger and created some very fun memorable moments. Also, board games such as Monopoly are fun to play with big groups!
4.) Movie Day
For whatever reason, rainy days are the only days where I can lay in bed and watch movies all day and not feel guilty about it. This might be the wrong mindset but I feel like all of my responsibilities are postponed or eliminated on rainy days. I remember a lot of the residents would bring their blankets and pillows to the dorm lounge and watch movies together. A lot of times the Resident Advisors would provide us with ice cream and hot chocolate on these days and we would lay out and watch movies back to back to back to back. There was one rainy day where I think I watched every Fast and the Furious movie (there were about 8 of the movies out at the time). Simple days like this can really help you bond with your dormmates and create lifelong memories.
5.) Painting Day
This is also a very fun activity that we would do in the dorms on rainy days. We had this one art major who had a bunch of art canvases, and she would let us borrow them along with all of her painting utensils and just let us paint away. Looking back, that was pretty generous of her, considering those painting canvases aren’t that cheap. We would create, or attempt to create, masterpieces. I would usually fail at creating anything worth hanging up in a dorm room, but I remember everyone else’s paintings would look amazing. This is a pretty simple, but really fun activity to do together with your dormmates or roommates. You just need a few canvases, some paint and paint brushes, a few cups of water, and I think you’re good to go.
6.) Study/Homework
The dorms are so fun, so it might be hard to remember, but you’re in college to study and to learn. Despite how difficult it is, rainy days can be good days to catch up on work or just study. Sometimes, reading and studying can be enjoyable when you’re in your quiet dorm room and all you hear is the rain outside (although I’m sure that’s not the case because you have hundreds of residents right outside of your dorm room).
These are just a few things that you can do on rainy days. If it’s safe, and not raining too hard, it might also be fun to go out and just let the rain hit you. Whatever you do on rainy days, don’t let it ruin your day. Go do something productive.