As most of us know, college is a time for growth. A time for us to figure out who we are in this world and be on our own for the first time. While exciting, it can also be terrifying. There’s sometimes a hint of fear among all the new lifestyle changes and exhilarating experiences. I’m not talking about the fear your parents experience when they send their baby away to college. I’m talking about the moment your parents leave and you’re standing in your new dorm saying “Oh sh*t.” I’m not embarrassed to admit that was my reaction. What do I do now? Don’t get me wrong, I was super excited to leave for college but there’s a particular safety net of having your parents around. Instead of wondering when dinner will be, you’re making it yourself surrounded by people you’ve never met. Now, all this isn’t meant to scare you, I’m not that harsh. What I am trying to say is if you are a little nervous to leave for college, that’s normal and I felt the same exact way. Although, there was one decision that completely changed my college experience.
In high school, I had a huge friend group, it was the norm for me. There were about 15 of us that had known each other since sixth grade. We had spent our lives together and now we were all leaving. We all went to different colleges, some across Florida, some out of state. I was lucky enough to have one of my best friends also go to Florida State University (FSU). Something people always wondered when they found out we were both going was why we weren’t living together. Why were we making it harder on ourselves when we could both just live with someone we knew? We both decided shortly after being admitted that we wanted to choose random roommates. In all honesty, our reasoning was very simple. While we loved each other, we knew living with a stranger would be better for us. It would force us to branch out and make new friends, instead of clinging to each other in a new environment.
I’m not going to act like random roommates work out for everyone. In fact, many of my friends have the usual crazy roommate stories. I was willing to take that gamble, and it ended up being my best decision. The very first night with my new roommate, she sat me down on the couch for a “talk.” I was about to pee my pants. We all know “talk” never means something good. Except for this time, it did. “I don’t want things to be weird and awkward between us. If I’m living with someone, I want us to be friends,” is what she said to me that first night. I let out the biggest breath I ever had. From there, the rest was history.
We spent the first few nights together talking up until 3 a.m., telling stories from high school about our friends. Telling each other about our majors and our dream careers. We did everything together. She was my person. She met my other best friend that goes to FSU, and they instantly clicked. At that moment, all the fear and worries went away and I realized throughout all the doubt, I had made the right decision.
One thing that helped us build a healthy living experience, and helped us become even closer, was complete honesty. We learned early on that it was better to be completely honest with each other than to keep things to ourselves, and it went a long way. Little things like “Hey can you do the dishes today” or “It’s your turn to take out the trash” allowed us to live comfortably with each other. Our friendship grew from there and we soon realized that we wanted to keep living with each other. As a matter of fact, my best friend that was also at FSU was experiencing the same thing.
If you’re wondering, all four of us live together now, and I know that if we both didn’t agree to live with random roommates, we never would’ve been where we are today. The point of my story is, you might be terrified to live with a stranger, but you might also find a lifelong friend because of it.
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