Living in residence last year was like living with 400 of my closest friends (for people living in Saugeen, I guess it was more like 1200 of your closest friends). However, I obviously made a smaller group of friends that I stuck with all year (since 400 is a bit excessive).
Now, in second year, I live with five girls from my friend group. It’s a small house, with no air conditioning (you’ve got to love student living), but it’s home, and we like living with each other. We’re happy. However, everyone around us seems to think otherwise.
When I say “there are six girls living in my house,” everyone’s reaction tends to be either one of pity or uncertainty–as if I just told them my house was flooded. Others seem to think that a house of six girls is a recipe for trouble, but I am here to tell you otherwise .
These looks of sympathy stem from people’s beliefs in certain myths about a house of six females. It’s really not what you imagine. If you’re still not convinced, here are my opinions in response to some of the questions I am asked when I tell others that I live with six girls:
1. “Do you have pillow fights and gossip every night?”
Yes, I have actually been asked this multiple times, but no, this is not your secret fantasy (sorry boys). This is our house; we live in it the same way you live in yours. We have different schedules, eat at separate times and all have work to do. Sometimes we find the time to gossip and talk about our day, but it’s a rare event if all six of us are present.
2. “Do you fight a lot?”
People have this idea that large girl groups equate to back-stabbing and fighting. I would really like to talk to the person who gave girls such a bad reputation, since in my house the only thing we ever fight over is who ate the last piece of blueberry pie.
Yes, we argue about things: who didn’t clean their dishes, who needs to throw out their food, etc, but we never yell or stop speaking to one another. At the end of the day, we’re friends and who have better things to worry about.
3. “Are your periods in sync?”
No, at least not right now. It seems like a ridiculous question before you think about the science behind it; this article describes how female menstruation doesn’t actually “sync” with other women’s cycles, but there are times when our periods may converge for a couple of days. So yes, at some point in the year, it may be possible that some of us will be PMSing at the same time. We’ll know when that time comes: when we run out of chocolate.
4. “Can you even get work done?”
Yes, of course. It’s a little sad that people assume girls would rather gossip than complete their work. My friends and I love the social aspect of Western, but we also know that school is more important. If we’re all at home doing work, we know not to distract each other and just focus on our own work in our rooms. It’s a healthy way of studying, as we take breaks with each other and then go right back to work without wasting any time leaving the house.
5. “How do you all cook?”
We don’t have the same schedules, so we’re not all home at the same time. We also eat at different times — some of us like eating late, others early. It’s not as though we have one pot, pan and knife. If we all happen to be cooking at the same time, we take turns. It’s pretty simple, everyone just has to be patient.
6. “Is there any room for personal space?”
Just because I live with five other girls doesn’t mean that we crowd each other. We each have our own room, and if we need personal space, we just lock our door. It’s true that we like hanging out with each other, and sometimes we all pile into one girl’s room, but that’s usually when we have stories to tell from our day.
The next time someone tells you their house is filled with six girls, remember this: what you probably think is the worst situation ever is actually a fun and enjoyable way of living.