Freshman year of college is supposed to be the most exciting time of someone’s life. The summer before, I was excited. Nothing could go wrong in my mind, and the nightmares that kept crossing my mind were simply nightmares that could “never happen to me.” I was rooming with my best friend since preschool, and we planned our room down to every detail. We were extremely excited but also nervous, but we knew that since we would be living together, no matter what happened, we would have each other to rely on at the end of the day.
Then some of those nightmares became a reality. We got an email with our roommate assignments. I will never forget the moment I opened the assignment to see that I was not only in the dorm building that I did not want to be in but, most importantly, I was not assigned with my friend. A completely unfamiliar name was staring at me as tears filled my eyes. Our parents immediately called housing and asked for a change. We had done everything correctly on the roommate application and even called the housing department to ensure we did everything right. They assured us that we did and that we would be rooming together. After multiple phone calls, housing told us there was nothing we could do. This is when the dread set in, and all of the excitement was gone.
Move-in day finally came, and I decorated my half of the room. My family left (the worst part), and I was left with my best friend. The next day I met my roommate, and it seemed to go okay, but we were very different.
Then came the first day of classes. This may have been the worst day of the entire year. I was accepted into a program that only took a certain number of students. I was very proud of myself for getting in and proving that I was good at what the program focused on. I got to the main class of the program and was met with a feeling of terror, dread and fear. I knew instantly that I did not belong in the program. I can’t explain it. It was a gut feeling, and I knew I needed to get out of there before I was stuck in a major that I hated and had to get a job in a field I hated. For the entire class, I was holding back tears. I immediately emailed my advisor and told her that I needed to switch my major and that I needed to do it fast. I was then called into a meeting with someone high up in the program and was told that I would not be successful if I left the program. To be an eighteen-year-old trying to find what she wanted to do with her life and being told that, was gut wrenching, especially after feeling like I was making one of the best decisions of my life.
Needless to say, the first week was not the best. The rest of the year was extremely bumpy. My roommate and l did not click at all, and not once did she bother to get to know me. I could write a book about what happened to me, but I will not discuss specifics. I was made to feel incredibly uncomfortable and, at times, unsafe, and it was terrible.
You are probably bored of hearing the terrible parts of my freshman year; believe me, I’m bored of telling it, but I’m sharing because not everyone has a wonderful freshman year. There is this stereotype that college is the best four years of your life, and having adults constantly telling me this while nothing around seemed to go right was awful. Even though this year seemed not ideal, I survived it and made many great memories. I made a great friend group that did everything together. We would go to football and basketball games, museums, shopping, and more. I am so thankful for the friends that I made. I also switched to a major I love and obtained an amazing summer internship. So for anyone who feels like their freshman year didn’t go as planned or will not go as planned, don’t worry because you will get through it and maybe even make unforgettable memories.
(P.S. If you have serious problems with your roommate, do NOT stick it out. I’m proud of myself for getting through it but would not wish that upon anybody.)