Movies and television shows make college living seem like a dream.

And though I was not that idealistic and optimistic, I knew that no matter where I went to college my dorm room would  be decent, not magical, but decent.

I certainly did not expect my new home to look quite like the residence hall of  Olmeca.

Gum stained walls (yes, there is gum on my walls — which has got to be more than two years old) and broken cabinet doors were not what I had in mind.

Though the leaky ceiling tile does help me wake up in the mornings, it still isn’t what I pictured when I envisioned my first college dorming experience.

And no matter how many decorations or pictures you put on the walls, the feeling of old and gross never really goes away.

Walking on the carpeted hallways barefoot is never a good idea, even in an emergency. It feels the same as walking on concrete — filthy. You can bet that your feet will turn black in an instant.

What makes all of this event worse is the fact that we are paying the same amount as students in other residence halls.

While we are forced to endure smelly hallways, old infrastructure and dirty common areas, my peers in Zura, Tenochca, Cuicacalli and South Campus Plaza get to live like royalty.

Though Olmeca is undergoing renovations next semester, (Olmeca residents will be moving into Maya which is currently being renovated) I still find it unfair that I have to relocate when I’ve already gotten settled in.

It took me nearly six hours, with the help of five people the first time around, to move all of my belongings. There’s no telling how long it’ll take me this time. Especially considering the fact that there is no long summer vacation between moves.

Sure, freshly renovated dorms may seem like a reward for having to live in these old and gross dorms for one semester, but I assure you it is the exact opposite.

Overall, there are days where it doesn’t seem so bad, floormates are lovely, and the friends I’ve made are amazing. But, why should we be living in a place that is only half as nice compared to what we are paying? Why are we paying the same amount of money, but residence halls like Chapultepec have common rooms with T.V’s on all of their floors while we only have one for the whole building?

And I understand that those residence halls are much larger, but it still doesn’t seem right.

Though I do appreciate that I have a roof above my head, that is all Olmeca is.

I’m not sure how the people before me were able to remain sane as they watched the school build  South Campus Plaza or remodel Tenochca, because I would’ve gone insane.

I appreciate SDSU’s effort to place us into newer dorms, but I can’t say that I appreciate the timing, or the burden that this will place on every single one of my peers in Olmeca.