So it finally happened. Some school, somewhere in the country, was dumb enough to let you in. You picked your favorite, accepted, and spent all summer agonizing over who your random roommate might be. You hoped that she would be cool, fun, and the same size as you so that you could share clothes. You crossed your fingers that she would also be pledging a sorority, and that she’d like getting her nails painted and going shopping just as much as you did. And then, move-in day finally arrived.
You held your breath as you turned the handle and pushed open the door. You were immediately relieved to see a girl staring back at you who looked pretty much just like all the girls you were friends with back home. Your parents helped you unload all the random junk that you were sure you were going to need (spoiler alert: you didn’t need most of it), said their tearful goodbyes, and that was it. You were officially living with a complete and total stranger. Maybe the two of you had exchanged a few awkward Facebook messages, or texted about majors and coordinating comforters, but that’s probably about it. And the first conversation is bound to be a little uncomfortable as the two of you try to feel each other out. And then one conversation turns into two, and little by little you begin to realize how compatible you are.
You have no idea how on earth the university could possibly have known that you both had long term relationships in high school, and that you were both nervous about how they would work out in college. It seems impossible that checking a few boxes on a housing survey could have ensured that the girl you share a 12x16ft cement box with would also be excited to rush, and want to go grocery shopping with you when you’re both homesick. That she would love eavesdropping on the weird people in the dining hall and has to put ranch on everything. You can’t believe that this person who you had no idea existed just two months ago would soon become your Snapchat best friend, or that you’d sneak and sit in each other’s 100-level classes, giggling instead of listening to the professor because you couldn’t handle separating for even an hour.
She’s the yin to your yang. She’s the one who forces you to drink a bottle of water before bed so that you ward off a hangover. She’s the one who reminds you when you have class because you can never remember the difference between your Monday/Wednesday/Friday and your Tuesday/Thursday. You’re the one who teaches her to do laundry. You’re the one who helps her scrape ice off her car when you both literally need Mexican food, but realize that she forgot to pack an ice scraper. When one of you goes out without the other, people immediately come up to you asking where your other half is. When one of you is stressed, the other either is equally stressed on her behalf. You’ll help each other rearrange the small amount of furniture that you’ve squeezed into the room over a dozen times, and you’ll help each other create the perfect texts to the cute boys in the fraternity that you spend every waking moment at. You’ll accidentally spill nail polish on the floor, and sit on the carpet crisscross applesauce crafting for more afternoons than you probably should. When one of you doesn’t go to class, the other sees it as the perfect opportunity to skip since it’s not like she’d walk to class alone.
Maybe she isn’t in your sorority, and maybe you won’t end up being friends forever. But for freshman year, at the very least, your roommate will become your person, if you get a good one. When you spend practically every waking minute cohabiting with someone, you get pretty close. You can’t help but pick up on her obsession with One Direction or Grey’s Anatomy, and she’d be dumb not to learn pretty quickly that when you start acting sassy you either need coffee or food, or more than likely, both. You’ll learn which aunts and uncles she can’t stand, and which dog is her favorite family pet. You’ll find out what she wants to name their kids when she gets married, and what cut her ideal engagement ring is.
It might be scary to take the plunge and accept a random roommate, but when it ends up working out, it truly can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your four years..
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Lindeliciousss
A native Seattleite and self-proclaimed Snapchat queen, she's been a coffee addict since she found out what a coffee bean was. Believer in and promoter of the #freeguac and #freegucci movements. She is obsessed with all things Harry Potter and has been known to stop people at parties to tell them how to remove the wine from their clothes. In her spare time, she enjoys baking, writing for TSM, and pretending like she has her act together. Hit her up @ [email protected]
@lindeliciousss
@lindeliciousss
