When I was a freshman, one of the big things I was excited for was living on my own for the first time. Growing up with brothers I was finally excited to get my own space and just be me. I also love decorating my own space and making it my own. There is no better rush than moving in and hanging up your posters and setting out framed photos of your friends or your dog.
The summer leading up to my freshman year, while apartment hunting I had landed a sublease at the place I really wanted but I would not get my roommate info until closer till the move in date. I had stories from far and wide about how everyone I knew had a horrible roommate experience. The tales ranged from the literal plot to a horror movie to passive aggressive tension for years. I shook it off but in the back of my mind while I carried my box of trinkets the three flights of stairs it takes to get to my floor that the other girls behind the door were somewhat normal. To my relief and surprise, they were. It was actually so fun living with them. We would hang out in the living room together and have weekly pizza nights. I would brag to all my friends that I had managed to escape the roommate curse.
My friends would roll their eyes and complain about how their roommates would have arguments and would not know how to clean up after themselves but I was blessed. I was the exception, the outlier. I had literally been paired with two random girls and somehow managed to not have issues. Or so I thought. The fall semester came around, and I came back from summer break and slowly our kitchen looked like a war zone. Dishes piling up, trash not taken out, and every college student’s worst nightmare, fruit flies. I was shocked.
What happened to my tidy roommate? Suddenly it dawned on me, I had fallen to the dreaded roommate curse. It had finally caught up to me and now I cannot shake it. Moral of the story is never take anything for granted, always do your search, and set your boundaries. Maybe you could be the one to come out of the roommate curse alive.