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Know that it will be one of the best years of your life. When will you ever get to live in such close quarters with your best friend? The answer to that is only your sophomore year at Brown University. Enjoy it. Dive in head first because it will be a wild ride.
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We were both neat, but not soneat that we couldn’t live with the trash piling up for days in our room. Clothes strewn about and solo cups stacked high, we made the tacit agreement to ignore the mess for as long as we could. Until finally we strapped on our cleaning supplies, turned on Michael Buble’s christmas album, and thoroughly prepped for our heavy-duty renovation. The point is, be ready to clean. Remove the carpet and scrub the floors (we relied on clorox wipes, but you can do better)! Also, buy a vacuum. You’ll thank us later.
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You both will be on different schedules. Your alarm clocks will erupt throughout the morning, and you’ll soon resent her use of the snooze button. You may find yourself throwing the nearest pillow across the room, hoping to hit your target and finally get her out of bed. Don’t worry! She’ll be grateful later on when she makes it to her 9 am on time.
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Designate a wall in your room for polaroids– the biggest, most central wall in your room. Buy more film than you think you’ll ever need. Your prediction is wrong. Always. You’ll use all of them and still be sprinting to Urban Outfitters right before your first big Halloween party. Once the wall begins, you’ll never want to stop. Invite friends over, watch them scavenge for their favorite photos, and enjoy your glorious collection of art. These same photos hang in our house today, as they will next year, and the year after that.
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You will share clothes every day and every night. Underwear, shirts, socks, coats… if you name it, your roommate will borrow it. Your drawers will slowly become your roommate’s. It will come as no surprise to find your missing top hanging in her closet. Whether it is your winter coat that she nicknamed “blueberry jacket” or her favorite pink sweatshirt that consistently joins your study trips to the Rock, two closets will inevitably merge into one. When winter break arrives, you’ll miss her dearly of course, but you might miss her clothes a little more.
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Water bottles. You may think that you’ll buy water every week for your room, but you won’t. You simply won’t find the time, effort, or motivation to walk all the way to CVS, back to your dorm, and then proceed to hike up three floors of stairs–all while barely holding on to 28 water bottles. So please, buy a reusable water bottle. More realistic, more convenient, and of course, better for the environment.
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This is cheesy, but it works. After a long week of work, stress, or fatigue, it becomes time to make a change. Wake up in the morning, look at your roommate, and remind her, “Today’s going to be a great day.” For some odd reason, this technique has never failed. We’d come home after class, again look back at each other, and realize the fantastic day we genuinely experienced. It’s bizarre and hard to believe, but also effective. It truly is the little things.
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Watching movies together will get complicated, particularly when neither one of you wants to invest in a TV. Don’t worry, we have a plan. You and your roommate can be in your own beds and still enjoy the full experience of watching the same movie together. Pick a movie (honestly the hardest part) and click play at the exact same time. Make sure both volumes are loud and in perfect synchronization. Expect an endless game of trial and error. Good luck and don’t give up.
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Music. A key aspect that should never be dismissed. One of us was in charge of the music in the morning–the calm, happy, yet arousing songs that motivated our preparation for a day on the 4th floor of the Rock. Time to grind out four Hazeltine essays. The other was in charge of afternoon tunes, perfect for returning home after a long day of ratty coffee and iClickers. They were also in charge of pregame music, quintessential boosters and throwback anthems for a night out at Brown.
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This room will become your haven, your safe place to cry, and your home away from home. You’ll always keep hold of those photos, playlists, and clothes that you refuse to return. Enjoy the ride. Forever in our hearts, Harkness 330.
The roommates,
Grace and Sabrina (GP and SB)