I grew up in a household where the only other children were dogs. I've lived in one bedroom for my entire life, brushed my teeth in the same sink for 20 years and flew up the basement stairs with amazing speed after I was finished grabbing laundry. I was set into my life with my mom and we were always talking, watching TV and running errands together. I have two very best friends I see as often as possible and when we are done hanging out we go back to our homes and go to our own spaces. When I decided to travel 420 miles from home to go to college, the scariest part was knowing I would have three new people to meet and live within a dorm, but doing so has shown me what I think I missed growing up without siblings.
The first thing to make the journey of roommates terrifying was that the phone numbers that were given to each person were wrong. One of my roommate's house numbers was listed and my cell phone number wasn't even printed. Before moving in, I only got to text with the girl I shared a bathroom with and even when I was comforted knowing she seemed, and is, a great person, she still managed to freak me out by telling her roommate horror story.
The easiest part of this roommate adventure has been that we each have our own bedroom. We share living spaces, like the living room and kitchen (more cabinets, please!), but we each have our own closed door bedroom. If I want to be left alone, I can close the door and the girls I live with know I'm busy. However, it is rare that I ever close my door because I have grown to love the noise of having roommates.
The girls I have lived with so far, excluding one mini horror story, know just about as much as my family and best friends know about me. They have seen me at my happiest and highest points, like when we are crying because we can't stop laughing over a fart, and they have seen me crying and calling my mom saying how badly I want to come home. They see me on grumpy days where I can sound really mean, but they understand that I am just having a moment and I know the same when they go through their own emotions. Just two weekends ago I was getting very frustrated with one of my roommates while she was having a moment, but I understood her moment and calmed myself so it didn't explode in an unnecessary Powerpuff Girls disagreement.
My roommates have shown me what I think would have been my life growing up with sisters. We all have some things in common, whether it be our attitudes on math or boys, and we each have things that are unique to us, like one of my roommates oddly dislikes carton ice cream. We know when it's the right time to talk or when to leave space. Most importantly is we have opened ourselves up to one another and it's that simple yet complicated action that has brought us so close together and will keep us as forever friends just as I imagine sisters are.
I can't and don't want to imagine how miserable my time away from home would be if I didn't get along or didn't really know my roommates. To anyone who is going away from home as an only child or a homebody or anything in-between, let yourself shine through because you never know how much you'll click with the right roommates if you don't open yourself for growth.
And to my past, present and future roommates -- thank you for this life changing experience and I love you dearly.
