What I've Learned Living In An Apartment

Having been an RA my sophomore and junior year of college, I haven't had a roommate in a while. Even when I did, I was super lucky, as my roommate and I had our own rooms and we really meshed well together.

For my senior year, I was not only losing the comfort of being an RA, but I was also living with three girls. I knew one relatively well, as we had lived in the same residence hall freshman year, but the other two were complete strangers to me. Needless to say, I was a little nervous.

The last semester has been an eye-opener. We've had a lot of issues with our landlord not responding to us. We didn't have a lease until August, even though we were living in the apartment before then. We want to foster a dog, but he isn't responding. It's been a challenge when things break or our radiators don't work, as we really just have to problem solve ourselves.

We have a chore board to try and stay on top of things. However, all four of us are biology majors, so our schedules are insane. During midterms and finals, the chore board got ignored, and things were hard. We ran out of dishes. The trash overflowed. There was cat hair all over the floor.

When things got really bad though, we would talk about it. We would overhaul the kitchen and throw the trash out and do multiple loads for the dishwasher.

My roommates though have been my biggest growing experience. Moving in with near strangers was really scary, but they very quickly became some of my closest friends this semester. We went out for Halloween together, and we attended Loyola's President's Ball together. It was so fun, and we complained about our heels all night. Three of us were in dance together and we performed at the same recital.

We hold each other accountable, which is really nice. We write papers together (or try to, when we don't get distracted by Zodiac traits). We complain about grades. We complain about boy drama or lack of. We help one another through times of panic and celebrate when things go well.

I know I've lucked out. These three girls have been amazing. Two of them graduated this semester, and I'm so proud of them. I know not everyone is as lucky with their roommates, but I was. I really needed the positive girl friendships this year after a lot of my friends graduated last year.

I'm really thankful for this semester, and I'm excited for what's to come next semester. Hopefully we don't forget about our chore board so much.