I remember going to college orientation and learning all about life as a resident. The orientation ambassadors for my group each had their own funny and not-so-funny stories about their roommates. One of them told us how she and one of her best friends had chosen to be roommates at school. She told us how once they started living together, they realized how different their personalities were and how they didn't get along. This ended up causing their friendship to be ruined, and the OA told us how she really wished they hadn't decided to live together.
I had been matched up with a random roommate because I didn't know many people going to college. Halfway through freshman year, my boyfriend and my best friend both decided to transfer to my school. I was so excited and immediately knew I wanted to dorm with my best friend. We didn't get the chance to right away because I already had a roommate, and so she got matched up with someone else.
Our junior year, we were finally able to be roommates, and at first, I was a little nervous about it. We have similarities in our personality for sure, but we can also be different at times. We had been friends since we were little kids, and I didn't want our friendship to change now that we would be living together.
After living together for about a week, I knew I had nothing to be worried about. We were living in an on-campus apartment, and we shared everything. We took turns cooking dinner, and we would buy groceries to share so that we didn't have two of everything. We had a lot of fun together and we knew how to back off when one of us was in a bad mood. When we would disagree on something, we would just agree to disagree and leave it alone. I was also very fortunate that even before my boyfriend and I started dating, he and my best friend were friends. So, we were all always able to hang out and genuinely have a good time together.
I think when you and a close friend are deciding to live together, it's important, to be honest with yourself on if your personalities really match up. Everyone loves the idea of living with a best friend, but sometimes it's not a great idea. Also, you have to be willing to do half the work when you live with a friend. We take turns doing the dishes and cleaning the bathroom.
We are now going into our senior year and still living together. I'm so glad she decided to transfer here because it's made our friendship even stronger. I can't wait to see what this year has in store!
