I remember moving into my house last year and just thinking "I finally have my own room." Anyone could tell you that privacy is pretty limited in a dorm room, so having no one else living in my room again was very much needed. There are obvious upsides to having your own room, from not worrying about waking someone else up to being able to change without caring about what someone sees. But a house is different from a dorm. Instead of just one room, there are multiple spaces and usually multiple people inhabiting those spaces. So you gain some privacy back while still living with people.

I love my privacy, but I also love my housemates to death. Yes, I'm not stuck as the only one cleaning, which is nice, but it's a support system that I literally come home to. There are weeks when we're all busy and don't see each other much, but we're there when it counts. I knew everyone I lived with decently before prior to living with them too (two of us actually met junior year of high school) so I can honestly say I am completely comfortable sharing what's going on with me when something's up.

We were painting in our living room the other night and discussing how weird it's going to be moving out of our house when our lease is up. It may just be a building, but when all is said and done we'll have lived there together for two years -- we'll have spent half of our college careers living in what we jokingly call an annex for one of my clubs. It's going to be a bittersweet feeling to leave and for three of us, move on from undergrad life.

I know eventually, I'll part ways with my house, but I hope to never part ways with my roommates. So thank you all for not only letting our house be dubbed the "STC Annex" but being there for me when I've needed it. I can't tell you how much I love you and every minute we've lived together.