After notifying every family member, family friend, and social media site of your acceptance to your dream school, your attention turns to a couple of crucial details. Where will I live? What will my room look like? Target or Pottery Barn? Should I bring my cute boots now or wait until Thanksgiving? Hold on. You’re getting ahead of yourself! The first question on your mind should be “Who will I be living with?”
The summer before my freshman year, it seemed like I checked my mailbox and inbox hourly for the greatly anticipated dorm and roommate assignments. I’d received bills, pamphlets, and health forms, but none of those had quite the same impact on my life as the day I found out who I’d be sharing my life and space with come that fall. I had decided that starting off my college career living with someone I didn’t know would give me the most complete college experience. But then came the worry. What if she smelled bad? What if she was messy? What if she had a “new friend” every night? What if we just didn’t click?
The envelopes finally arrived. I stared down at my assignment, absorbing what this information meant. I rushed to my computer and immediately logged into Facebook. I ignored messages, notifications, and requests and typed my new roommate’s name into the search bar. “Well, that must be her!” As I browsed through photos, posts, likes and interests, and mutual friends (oops, actually we had NO mutual friends!), I was given a sneak peek into the life of my first college roommate.
When people asked me about her, all I could say was that she had gone to a Catholic high school in Miami. My friends laughed and asked how we’d get along, since I was Jewish and from the small town of Vero Beach. I shrugged and replied, “We’ll make it work.”
But my friends were right. At first glance, we had absolutely nothing in common. At that point, I knew this was going to be a very interesting year.
Move in day was upon us, and I had absolutely no idea what to expect. My mom and I pulled up to my building and were overwhelmed by the hustle-and-bustle of the day. RA’s greeted us, checked us in, and pointed us in the direction of our room. Would she be in there already? Which bed did she take? Again with the questions and anxiety!
Kaitlyn had gotten there first. Her bed was made (she picked the bottom bed) and there were a couple of packed bags sitting on the floor near the closet. I looked at my mom who smiled and nudged me in the direction of my bed. Just as we were about to put on the mattress cover, we heard voices and keys jingling outside the door. The handle turned, the door opened, and then…well, there she was.
My mom was the first to speak (of course!). She immediately stuck out her hand and introduced herself to Kaitlyn’s parents. They exchanged names and friendly giggles. Then in the middle of it all, “Hi I’m Kaitlyn!” Our parents were silent (but just that once) as they waited for my reaction. I smiled, “Hey, I’m Elana. Should we hug or something?” We all burst into laughter as Kaitlyn and I engaged in a quick and awkward hug.
“I recognized you from your Facebook pictures, so it felt like I had already met you,” I admitted.
“Oh, me too,” she replied. “But I figured if we’re supposed to share this room for the year, we may as well have a proper introduction.” We laughed again. After that, our attention returned to unpacking our sides of the room with our parents. Periodically, a sarcastic comment was made and we would exchange smirks or eye-rolls across the room. These smirks and eye-rolls, we learned, were the start of a very special friendship. Within days, we were referring to each other as best friends. Family members who called to check up on us were bombarded with stories of the two of us—even the stories no one else found amusing!
Two years later, Kaitlyn and I are still roommates and best friends. While there are plenty of roommate horror stories floating around out there, we are here to assure you that you CAN have a pleasant roommate experience. We invite you to laugh, cry, and cringe with us as we share our stories and give you helpful tips for living in roommate bliss!