At the beginning of this past year, I had signed a lease with two girls I met through a mutual friend. We signed up for a 4×4 and ended up having to apply for a random roommate. I was so nervous about it—what if she didn’t like us? What if we don’t get along? So many thoughts ran through my head and I became incredibly apprehensive about it.
Two weeks before I was supposed to move in, my family and I tested positive for COVID, so my move back to Tallahassee was delayed for a while. I felt so left out. The two girls I signed the lease with were bonding perfectly with our new random roommate. It was hard because I felt as though when I finally moved in, I was not going to be able to find my place in my own apartment. Soon enough though, I finally got the opportunity to move into my new place and started forming relationships with all three girls.
My random roommate had friends over often; they lived in the same building as us but didn’t get along with their own roommates, so they spent a lot of time in our apartment. Having these girls in my apartment was a little weird at first because I felt as though I was intruding even more. Little did I know, these girls would soon become some of my best friends.
A couple of weeks into my moving in, there was a COVID outbreak in our apartment. The only two people in my apartment who weren’t affected were me and my random roommate, Gabby. The two of us started getting closer seeing as we couldn’t really spend much time with our other roommates and her friends because they were quarantining. We got to know each other better with each passing day, and soon enough I became the most comfortable around her.
As she and I got closer, I also got closer to her friends that spent a lot of time in our apartment. We hung out every day and created great friendships with each other. Gabby ended up moving out of the apartment and moved in with her two friends that had spent all their time at our place since their roommates had moved out. Soon enough, I also moved in with the three girls—and they have become my best friends. I found a connection with these girls purely by chance and it makes me feel like one of the luckiest people in the world. It’s hard to make friends in college, especially during a worldwide pandemic but having even just one random roommate fully changed my life.
It can be scary to build friendships in college, but what better way to do that than to make friends with people you already live with? Finding a random roommate was the best decision I’ve made in my life and I know that I have found friends for a lifetime. So, take it from me, take that chance! It can be terrifying, but I promise—it can turn your college experience into the best experience of your life.
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