To my freshman year roommate,

We spent one semester in a room big enough for six, and still managed to get in each other’s way. My laundry found its way onto your side of the room, you would steal my fans and face them towards you when you thought I wasn’t looking, we would set water bottles down on each other’s desks and leave them there for a few days at a time. There was enough space for us to have our own bubbles, but it was nice to live side-by-side and not have to worry about stepping on the wrong side of the carpet.

We killed three fish together, and spent nights debating whether or not it was in our best interests to adopt the biology lab goldfish. (In the best interest of the goldfish, we decided not to “rescue” them.)

We found that pulling the covers off of one another was the best way to wake each other up in the morning for 8ams. And we also learned how to do our work in the dark because one of us was sleeping at all times.

We let our love for Grey’s Anatomy bind us together as friends. We did squats together for approximately 4 days before I gave up and you went back to going to the gym alone. We cracked each other up with incredibly stupid health science jokes that nobody but us found funny.

We did our best to study together, and learned not to question when one had to draw the male anatomy over and over to memorize it for biology. We never quite learned how to study for chemistry, but at least one of us doesn’t have to retake it.

We took turns yelling out our window when we went to bed at 8pm and someone near us thought it was okay to blast their music while they pre-gamed. (Apparently you can’t go to bed early on Thursday nights when in college.)

We spent nights at each other’s side through friend drama, boy drama, and class drama… every kind of drama. The best thing about having a roommate was having a built-in friend who was there to put up with your day-to-day troubles and was always there to offer up new insults for the latest person who had ticked you off.

Unlike other roommates who spend their sophomore year together, we split apart. I chose to stay home and commute, and you packed your bags and went to a new school. We don’t even have the chance to run into each other in the café, or maybe have classes together.

You taught me that having a roommate doesn’t have to be the worst thing in the world, it can in fact be the very best thing. For the first time I had a best friend, a sister, a confidant, and a tutor all wrapped up into one small package. (Yes, that was a short joke.)

Here’s to hoping we cross paths again one day, and that the freshman in Dana 340 will be just as lucky as us.