Dear Roomie,

I have so much to thank you for. Thank you for tolerating me when I am the loudest person at the entire university at 7 a.m., thank you for letting me use your closet more than my own and thank you for making dorm life the best kind of life. But, most of all, thank you for continuing to live with me despite my serious disorganization issues.

I remember move-in day, the first of many days together. I promised myself that the way I set things up was going to be the way they would stay for the rest of the year. I made a place for everything as I moved in, and I told myself, “new school year, new me,” and I would put everything in its place. However telling myself “new school year, new me,” quickly turned into me telling myself that “I’ll clean it up tomorrow.” After many times thinking that my coat just looks better on the floor, things began to accumulate into a tornado of school supplies, clothes and anything I have collected along the way.

When you walk into our room, it is pretty clear whose side is whose. On one side there is a clean floor, made-up bed and a desk on which you can actually see the surface. On the other side, however, not so much. It amazes me sometimes how you consistently hang your clothes up in your closet and not just lay them on the back of your chair as I do, but I guess that’s why everyone can tell which side is yours. It also amazes me that you can do homework on your desk. My desk is covered in papers I got in class that day, the makeup and straightener I used three days ago and still haven’t put away and any kind of other miscellaneous items that you have put in a secure and safe place and I have decided to leave it on my desk and push it around until I need to do something with it. In fact, I'm writing this at your desk right now because mine is too messy to fit my computer (sorry).

Roomie, I'm sorry that I just can't seem to get my stuff together no matter how many times I told myself I would in college. Thank you for not just learning to deal or coexist with my disorder, but making it a part of your home. Even though I can never find my keys among the mess when I need them, I know I'll always be able to find you when I need you when life gets messy, and I owe you the world for that.