The first time I lived away from home was when I went to college and lived in the Castilian dormitory off-campus at UT Austin.
Back then it was the "party" dorm and less sophisticated than the Towers Dorm down the street. I was paired up with a girl named Katie Callahan from Pennsylvania. The first night sleeping next to someone you just met, knowing there was a year ahead of you, is very strange. But we both brought the exact same color of sheets and comforter. Ironic, since most girls actually coordinated those things and neither of us could care less. Hot pink, black and beige. She also brought a blow-up palm tree and I brought a poster of Enrique Iglesias. We ended up getting along swimmingly.
I think we were on the 17th floor and I had the extra-long twin bed by the window facing West Campus. My suite mates were two nice girls, one from Allen, TX and the other from New Orleans. My best friend Stephanie Soldner lived one floor below me and we bought walkie-talkies to communicate. The best part about the Castilian was the weekend brunch in the cafeteria. There was a waffle maker and Stephanie and I would sneak chocolate chips into the batter. There also was a dance studio on the bottom floor. Stephanie, our friend Jordan (who was on the official university dance team) and I would take hip-hop classes twice a week. We'd wear baggies and hats and sometimes use chairs as props.
Subway was downstairs, as was the Kizmit Cafe serving up the best chicken shawarma in town. To get to the union and the west mall, I just had to cross Guadalupe at the intersection with 26th.
Sidenote: this was the same area where Charles Whitman, student and former Marine sniper, killed 16 people and wounded 32 others from the tower on Aug. 1, 1966.
That first year of college was wonderful. I met my first love when he came over to study with the girl from Allen. I stayed up late and slept until 2pm most days. I pulled many all-nighters in the bottom floor study room and continued to study there throughout college. Judging by the website it seems like the Castilian has been upgraded quite a bit. No more sticky, beer covered elevators I guess.
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