Finally, I am a junior at UTM. I figured that since I have endured two years of living on campus I might allow myself the luxury of an apartment. Well, I finally decided to search for an apartment and since I had heard so many great things about Martin Place, I ended up moving in. I have my own bathroom, awesome roommates and my own kitchen. Living in the dorms wasn't so bad, although I am quite excited that I don't have to cook everything in either the microwave or on the George Foreman. Now, every up must also have a down, and the down would have to be the fact that Martin Place has no noise violation or damage control rules. Last night while walking back up to my room from the parking lot, I stepped on a broken beer bottle and had a piece of glass lodged in my foot. Now I am not complaining that people are drinking, but rather that they are not drinking responsibly. I mean seriously, is it that hard to pick up a bottle? We learn in kindergarten to pick up after ourselves. We are in college now people, grow up! We also learn to be civil to one another. My definition of being civil does not consist of going upstairs and complaining to the apartment above you every time you hear a pin drop. My roommates and I have come to expect the girls below us to come up and pay us a visit every other day to complain about the noise we are making. The sad thing is that when they complain, we aren't making any noise. Homer Simpson puts it this way, "If you want to complain, I'll give you something to complain about." Again, I must say we are all in college so that also makes us adults, even if many of us don't act like it, so quit complaining. Get over it and grow up. I have recently heard Martin Place being called the "Party Place," and I must agree with that description. Every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday night I am up till after 3 a.m. waiting on the music and screaming to die down. When I finally leave the apartment the following day, I find nice rows of neatly stacked beer cans lining the banisters. I can not believe that I am now missing the luxury of having a RA to enforce rules. Hey, I know I am doing my fair share of complaining here, but for $315 a month, I think I have a right to a good night's sleep and to not have to deal with people complaining every other day about my roommates and me making noise. After the next complaint, we will be holding a basketball game in the middle of our living room. The ups about living in Martin Place definitely exceed the downs, but before moving into an apartment make sure you know what you are getting yourself into and remember to take off the rose-colored glasses and get a look at the real picture.

Cathy Bennett is a junior Communications major from Memphis.