We’ve all heard of those horrible college roommate stories, getting paired up with someone who’s dirty, loud, and sometimes downright crazy. Most people assume that if they decide to be randomly assigned to a roommate, they have a much higher chance of getting stuck with a weirdo than with a best friend. Although nowadays is more common to search out your own roommate via Facebook or roommate matching compatibility websites, I’m here to advocate for good ol’ fate making the decision for you.
I got very lucky with my roommate that was randomly assigned to me. Originally, I did have a person that I chose through Facebook to room with, but because of conflicting contracts based on the terms we were starting, it didn’t work out. I was pretty disappointed, and anxious that I wouldn’t click with the roommate I got randomly assigned to. It turns out, the roommate I was randomly assigned to is now one of my best friends. We lived together freshman year, are currently living together our sophomore year, and are planning on renewing our apartment to live together again next year.
We might not have everything in common, and sometimes our dorm room would be half dirty/half clean (we’d take turns on not having any motivation), and occasionally our sleep schedules didn’t match up perfectly. Despite this, we made and are making it work, and because we didn’t know each other before school started, we got to get to know each other and experience being freshmen together, which was a wonderful bonding experience. I won’t lie and say that you aren’t going to get stuck with an annoying, strange, obnoxious roommate if you choose to be randomly assigned. You very well could.
But know that just because you choose your roommate ahead of time based on minimal and superficial Facebook conversations, does not mean you’ll get along with them either. I’ve heard many stories from friends who chose a roommate and then found out they were completely different than they had imagined, and now don’t get along with them at all. Yes, I got extremely lucky. But I urge you to let fate decide your roommate for you. If it is so incredibly awful, there are things you can do to switch or get out of that situation. But if you decide to choose yourself, you might be missing out on an amazing roommate and possible best friend.
