Going to college is a reality in the life of many young people.
Like taking your first job interview or getting married, it can be a daunting experience.
Probably not as daunting as when you become a parent but still not a walk in the park. Most students avoid the hassle of independence. They continue to live with parents or relatives while attending college. Others don’t want or can’t continue depending on the previous living arrangement to work. I was in the latter category, and an interesting journal entry of my days in college piqued my curiosity. The title was “Furnace service from hell.” I decided to read the entry and jog my memory. In a few seconds, I began feeling like someone had turned down the heating in my house. The way I had suffered on the day I wrote this entry became clear to me, and, surprisingly, I took longer to recollect. Living in a studio apartment had its perks, especially since rent was affordable. That chilly winter night without heating the subsidized rent was a trivial matter. I couldn’t understand what was happening. An HVAC expert had visited earlier in the fall for maintenance. I tried to reach the landlord, but his phone kept going to voicemail, so I had to brave the cold until the first light. I put on layers of thermal clothing and changed the cotton sheets for a pair made out of synthetic material. The bitter part is that I hadn’t gone on holiday because I needed extra credits to complete the academic year. Early the following day, I finally got hold of the landlord, who sent a heater installation expert. He insisted the root of the problem was a botched furnace service.