You don’t realize how close you will suddenly become to people until you are forced to change your entire lifestyle.
Seriously, everything changes when you go to college. You are away from home and in a totally different place. You are homesick, moody, confused, tired, scared, over-stimulated, hopeful, anxious, and excited all at once. It seems impossible until you live it. And you now live amongst strangers and literally sleep next to one.
Even if you “met” your roommate before move-in day, it was probably only for a few hours. I was seriously waiting in the pizza line when my now-roommate Makayla and I started talking. We realized we both did not have roommates and just decided to roll with it. I knew as much about her as you can learn in a few hours’ worth of conversation. I put all my trust in her solely based on her favorite activities, where she was going on vacation that summer, and if she needed white noise to sleep (if she did, we would not be rooming together right now).
A couple days into college, and suddenly, these are strangers I can’t live without.
Yes, I found my people on the first night of arriving at my dorm. It is known that the people you hang out with in the first week of college don’t actually become your friends. This is not true in my case. We had a mandatory meeting that first night. I passed by room 222 (okay, slay angel numbers) as the girls were walking out, and I complimented how pretty their room was. It reminded me of “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” The bedding was blue and had many pillows and a teddy bear. There was also a ceramic balloon dog that rested on the desk. Soon, I would be walking into that room unannounced multiple times a day. That was Mya’s room, and she also happened to sit right next to me at that mandatory meeting. I now spend late nights watching “Outer Banks” with her.
Later that night was a candlelight ceremony followed by a bunch of activities, such as making succulents, tie-dyeing shirts, and sitting by the fire after getting loaded up with snacks. This is how I met my last stranger. She was quiet at first, but something about her was that she was always smiling. She laughed and giggled. She was happy and calm. We were all gathered in a group of like ten. At one point, we sat on the bench right outside of the dining hall, all in a circle. We found out each other’s favorite movies, artists, and foods, how many siblings we each had, and where we wanted to go on vacation. Turns out that Samantha, the girl with the contagious smile, lived only a few doors down from me.
Fast-forward to now. I have played games, colored, danced, gone to Cedar Point and New York City, painted pumpkins, walked the trail, sang, and eaten every meal with them. We have laughed and cried together. We used up all those late nights to talk about our families, dreams, funny stories, and favorites in life. We have celebrated birthdays. We have made slime. We have done boring studying together. We have gone to brunch. We have stayed in the dining hall for three hours just talking. We have fought, but we have made up. We have had a spa night. We have a “secret spot” on the trail we go to for peace. We have carried mattresses in and out of my room for sleepovers. We have taken pictures with our tongues sticking out. We have listened to each other. We have made matching sweatshirts. We have spent all our money on snacks from Walmart. We have gotten excited when there were pierogies or chicken nuggets in the dining hall. We have formed a beautiful bond. We have made so many memories and will continue to repeat all these, plus make many more.
It is crazy to think that I just met Makayla, Mya, and Samantha only a few months ago. How have I only known some of my best friends for less than a year?