Living with people can be difficult. Being constantly surrounded by someone can cause a riff in your relationship and make you want to pull your hair out in frustration. But if you're ever lucky enough to get the chance to live with your best friends, the relationships only get stronger. Each night is a sleepover and you become each others housemaids, mothers and therapists. Here are eight things I learned by living with three of my best friends for one year.
1. Your wardrobe expands.
Getting dressed becomes so much easier when you have three extra people to tell you what to wear, and three times the clothes to choose from. After a while, an open-door policy is established between closets. What's theirs is yours and what's yours is theirs. You'll never have the "I have nothing to wear" issue again.
2. Quiet hours do not exist.
It doesn't matter what time it is or whether or not you're asleep, quiet hours are not a real thing when living with your friends. Whether you're asleep in bed or doing homework silently, when your roommates need to talk, you talk. You'll be woken up at all hours of the night or during any nap for them to tell you all about their night out or funny encounter with someone interesting. And, though you might be severely sleep deprived, you never mind waking up to talk because you'll have to wake them up soon to tell them exciting news, too.
3. You'll invent a new language.
Sometimes using real words is too much effort, so you make up your own terms for things. And when you're living with roommates who you are constantly in conversation with, you begin to catch on to their made up words. Eventually, you'll even start using those words. While this makes speaking to your roommates infinitely more efficient and fun, remember that no one else speaks the language of your roommates. So be warned when using this made up language in public; no one will know what you're saying.
4. Compromise is essential when decorating.
Decorating your apartment or house will be one of the most bonding activities you do when living with your friends. You'll learn to appreciate your roommates' tastes and be able to combine all your separate interests. Having a cute apartment is one of the most satisfying things in the world, but when your roommate hangs a sign up on the wall that you absolutely hate, just remember how important compromising is. Though you don't like the sparkly sign on the wall, they probably don't like the poster you hung up of a band that no one else knows. Let each other contribute to the decorating to make the living space feel like each of your homes, even if you don't like the decorations.
5. Cleaning sucks, but it can be made fun.
Cleaning is probably the worst thing ever. And when you're living with close friends who you're comfortable around, you'll become your messiest self. When it comes time to deep clean your apartment (I mean scrub the floors and do all the hard stuff), it doesn't have to be terrible. Before hosting anything in your apartment, you'll all set aside a time to deep clean as a group, and it won't be as bad as you think. Split up the work and play some music, and it will be over before you know it. You'll even be able to bond over how gross floors can get.
6. You'll experience the circle of life together...when your plants die.
Keeping plants alive can be extremely difficult, and you and your roommates might become very attached to them. So when one of them dies, it's a rough time for all of you. You'll have to work together to find a replacement plant to go on the coffee table and swear to each other that you'll keep it alive for longer than a month this time. RIP Carl The Succulent.
7. Getting ready is the best part of going out.
Sharing a bathroom with your roommates can get a little cramped, but you're glad to have them around when you need them to do your makeup or curl your hair. Getting ready to go out is always the best part of the night. Dancing around to your roommate's pre-game playlist and helping each other look their best is always fun. It doesn't really matter that you're all fighting over the mirror and stuffed into a tiny bathroom because you're all together making predictions of how the night will go... which usually don't come true.
8. Moving out is extremely depressing.
When you live with your best friends, you get extremely comfortable and settled in your apartment. You get use to spending each day with your roommates, and living with anyone else is unimaginable. Move-out day will be rough, but you know you'll always have them. You've experienced everything together and have unspeakable bonds. Your next roommates will have big shoes to fill.
