Before coming to college, one of the most worrisome things was the thought of having a roommate. I read a few too many “Worst Roommate Horror Stories” posts and psyched myself out. What if my roommate was crazy? What if she stole my stuff? What if she spit in my food? My mind was so chock-full of all the possible bad outcomes I forgot to imagine the happy possibilities. What if we had a lot in common? What if we spent nights in her bed, talking, listening to music and eating too many snacks?

Not everyone lucks out when college roommate assignment is next to random, but I sure did. A nine-question survey we filled out the summer before starting college brought me together with one of my favorite people I’ve met in college—my beautiful, funny, artistic roommate. It’s been a wonderful first year of college and I have a lot to thank her for.

So, to my roommate:

Thank you for dealing with all of the spiders in our room. Even at one in the morning when I find you in the bathroom and beg you to come back and take the giant spider outside.

Thank you for knowing exactly how to comfort me after a long, stressful day. Those were frequent and I always appreciated having someone tell me that I should go to bed. Immediately.

Thank you for starting our very first conversation with, “So I Facebook-stalked you a bit.” It broke the ice immediately and, if I was as bold as bold as you, I would have said the exact same thing.

Thank you for putting up with my alarm going off early on the weekends for rehearsals and the weird hours I keep. Sorry for the times we wouldn’t see each other for two days straight and thank you for understanding.

Thank you for having rad taste in music. I knew we had somewhat similar taste, but you also introduced me to a bunch of new stuff and I really appreciate that.

Thank you for sharing your Nature Boxes with me when I got hungry at midnight or missed dinner. How many bags of cheese crisps and dried apples can two girls eat? A lot, apparently.

Thank you for always being there to listen when I need to rant. And thank you even more for telling me not to apologize for the complaining.

My first year of college could have been a lot worse had I ended up with an awful roommate and I’m so grateful I got you instead. I don’t know if we would have ended up friends otherwise, and I’m really glad we did.

To anyone starting their first year of college in the fall, don’t worry. There are a billion college roommate horror stories out there, but don’t let them scare you. Even if you don’t get a say in who your roommate is, it could work out wonderfully.