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As the semester comes to an end, most first-year students are thinking about completing assignments, taking holiday breaks and seeing family. Searching for off-campus housing is doubtlessly at the bottom of everyone’s to-do list.

Moving out of the dorms comes with a newfound independence. The freedom of choosing who you want to live with and what your lifestyle will look like is very compelling, but moving into a house or an apartment comes with many responsibilities. If you think too hard about it, it gets stressful. But you have to let excitement balance the stress and fear.

So if you are struggling to imagine living completely on your own with no more meal plan, no more bathroom cleanings and no more Durrell Center, use this as your incentive. Although you will likely still have roommates, you get to have your own kitchen, shower and space where you can do whatever you want. To make this a comfortable reality, you should probably start looking for housing within the next couple of months.

“There is always the biking option, but you would have to join the CSU Rams Cycling Team to stay in shape if you committed to biking up to 10 miles per day just to commute to class. What if your bike gets stolen or your tire goes flat? Then you are simply doomed, so start looking now while nearby homes are available.”

After being at college for approximately four months, students are supposed to decide who they want to share a house or apartment with the following year. Three months is certainly not enough time to declare genuine friendships — it sounds immensely overwhelming. But remember, you do not have to be best friends with the people you live with. If you find yourself uncertain of who you want to room with next year but feel the need to sign a lease in the next couple of months, it is always safe to room with your current roommate, as you already know what it is like to live with them.

Unfortunately, the housing demand here in Fort Collins, especially near Colorado State University, is through the roof. If you don’t want to live in a grimy, malodorous shack, you must start looking for off-campus housing. CSU has a large student population, and Fort Collins only has so many affordable housing options close to campus, which is what everyone seems to want. The City of Fort Collins has a somewhat tight rental market, meaning the number of apartments available for students and nonstudent residents is limited, which puts pressure on rental prices.

The parking situation at CSU is a separate story, but because there is restricted on-campus parking, living a few miles away from campus is inconvenient. There is always the biking option, but you would have to join the CSU Rams Cycling Team to stay in shape if you committed to biking up to 10 miles per day just to commute to class. What if your bike gets stolen or your tire goes flat? Then you are simply doomed, so start looking now while nearby homes are available.

If you are uncertain where you want to live next year, CSU has many resources to help, including the Housing Fair hosted by Off-Campus Life. At this event in the Lory Student Center Grand Ballroom, representatives from apartment complexes and property management companies offer students the chance to learn about the various housing options. There is also a housing module on the CSU website that assists students in their search for the perfect home.

This might all sound like a train wreck, but if you find yourself growing anxious, it’s OK. Ultimately, it would be fantastic if the demand wasn’t so high and the process wasn’t so stressful, but apparently, that is just a part of becoming an adult.

Reach Charlotte Seymour at letters@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.