“Don’t do that, when I did it, our friendship ended miserably.”
“That will never go smoothly, just don’t.”
“The best friendships will end if you room together in college.”
When I told people I wanted my best friend from high school to be my college roommate, everyone told me I was crazy. In fact, if you google advice on how to make it work, more often than not you only find articles detailing why not to do it. Fortunately, I didn’t listen, and almost two months in I do not regret my decision for a second. I’ve also compiled a list of reasons why rooming with my best friend has been the best thing that ever happened to me.
1. Your BFF gets you, a stranger or acquaintance will not.
Going into college is scary; there’s a million things to learn how to do completely different, and learning the personality of a new roommate should not be one of them. When I chose to move in with my best friend, I knew exactly what I was getting into. I knew her habits, her quirks, and all the great things about her, too. I could tell what to expect being around her on a daily basis because we were together pretty much all of the time for five years straight. Unless you and your best friend don’t spend a lot of time together overnight, then living with them could not be the easiest transition you make. However, if you’re like me and you dealt with them for that long with no issues, then moving in with them is as easy as breathing.
2. Not everything is roses and sunshine - you can talk about those things easier with a best friend.
Can you imagine walking up to a stranger and saying, “Hey, pick your crap clothes up off the floor, they’re starting to smell weird.” Heck no. If you have a roommate that you’re super close with, any drama can be settled easily and calmly, because more than likely you’ve handled worse before. Some would argue the opposite, that you don’t want to hurt their feelings, but real best friends don’t get upset if you’re giving them constructive criticism.
3. You can set up boundaries before you get to school.
The best thing about preparing for college with my best friend was that we could go ahead and talk about the not-fun stuff beforehand. If you’re rooming with someone you don’t know that doesn’t live close to you, the two of you can’t sit down and have a real discussion about boundaries, cleanliness, and groceries (by the way, all three of those are extremely important to have figured out). Also, if you have a boyfriend before you leave (like both of us do), then you probably know them and feel a lot more comfortable having them staying in your room and taking over the futon on weekends. All of this discussion before keeps you from having unnecessary drama and arguments during the year.
4. The most important thing -- planning a cute room is way easier.
If you don’t know someone, you don’t know their style. In contrast, if your roommate is your best friend you probably have the same room idea boards on Pinterest. Instead of worrying about stepping on people’s toes or compromising on something you didn’t want to compromise on, you can have the stress free room of your dreams. You can also split the costs of shared things a lot easier, making everything in your dorm a lot more cost efficient.
5. Your lifelong adventure buddy/weird/beautiful/crazy/loud person is only a few feet away most of the time.
Although it’s good to have personal space and extracurricular activities that you do without your best friend, you always have them there when you need them most. You never have to eat alone, go to football games alone, try a new adventure alone, or cry alone. The both of you will share your stresses, good times, bad times, and crazy times for the whole year, and create a million memories that you can tell to your children (who will obviously also be best friends). As much as finding who you are in college is important, it’s really nice to have a solid foundation to grow on, and a best friend is the best foundation there is.
