Enter scene: Eight girls, ready to leave freshman year behind and start anew. Last year was a difficult transition to say the least, but with friends like these, it's impossible to struggle. A suite filled with eight (particularly anxious, in this case) girls may sound like a recipe for disaster, but I think it ended up saving us all. Meet the squad:
Katrina (Kat):
Katrina is technically a Psych major, but because college is confusing, she doesn't actually want to be a Psych major and has yet to figure out what she truly wants to do with her life. Kat exhibits the amount of loyalty one only generally finds in dogs. As my roommate, Katrina probably has to deal with my crazy antics the most. With that being said, I am so thankful to have found someone who wants to live with me as much as I want to live with her.
Deena (Dee):
Deena is a Healthcare major. She spends a lot of her time in the library because she's absolutely brilliant. She's also hilarious and an incredible friend, so basically she's perfect. Share some flawless with the rest of us, Dee.
Leah (Lee):
Lee is completely undecided on her major (as am I) because life is so freakin' confusing. She's 4 feet and 10 inches of pure spunk. With the utmost sincerity, I can say that Leah has one of the kindest hearts I've ever come in contact with. At any time of the day, you can find Leah curled up on a seat, asleep, in our common room and I think that's a pretty accurate summation of her life.
Sarah (Sar):
Sarah is also undecided on her major, but she is a really talented artist, so she should probably do something in that field. Sarah is the only suite mate who will always call me on my sh*t and that's something I truly value in a friendship. Always down for a good time, Sar is the ideal suite mate.
Rachel (Rach):
Rach is the cutie of the group. She can brighten anyones day simply by opening her mouth and speaking in her calming voice. Rachel is an interdisciplinary Speech Pathology major. A mouthful, I know. But, it's fitting for such a kind and giving girl.
Tabitha (Tab):
Tab is a Biology major, which is really impressive because I wouldn't last an hour as a science major. She's an incredibly hard worker and also spends a lot of time in the library (which by the way, I have yet to enter this year). Tab is all about work hard, play hard, though, and can certainly be the life of the party as long as she doesn't have a test the next day. I wish I was more like Tab.
Katie (Mom):
As you can see, Katie is a unique individual. She's the glue of the group, which is why we all call her Mom. Katie is an Econ major and a Math minor. Her OCD keeps her on a perfectly timed schedule and ensures our common room is always nice and neat. Just like a mom, Katie is always there when you need her and is pretty much my favorite person to spend every single moment with. Thanks for being a phenomenal mom and an even more phenomenal friend! We all love you, Katie.
This week, I got a chance to sit down with some of my suite mates and discuss what it's like to live in a suite. Here's what happened:
Me: So, to start, how do you feel about the dynamics of this suite and living in a suite in general?
Katie: I love it. It makes it feel more like home- like I have a little family. I feel like I have seven sisters that I just get along with. There's no fighting in the sisterhood.
Leah: I can see why people think living with eight people might be overwhelming, but I think the dynamic of living with people is really cool. Like I think living in a suite just makes people closer together. If you go into a suite random, you can still develop a really strong bond with them, but since we all chose to go into this suite, obviously it'll be amazing. I love it so much.
Rach: Can you repeat the question.
Me: Dear God, this will be like pulling teeth. *repeats question*
Sarah: I like living in a suite.
Rach: I like living in a suite because when you live in a suite with your friends, you have seven extra people who are there to care about you and support you and you won't fall behind and you'll always have someone who cares about you.
Me: What are some difficulties about living in a suite, if any?
Katie: Having fifteen loud boys living above you.
Leah: Yeah the boys above us can be a pain, but they're super nice, too. You also never want to go to bed when you live in a suite because you always want to be hanging out with everyone and you never want to do your homework because you always want to be chilling.
Katie: This is so true.
Leah: But it works out because we all support each other in our academic endeavors.
Rach: I would say it's hard to live in a suite because when you have a test the next day or you're trying to go to bed early, the boys above us are really loud and your best friends are in the common room talking and you just want to be involved.
Leah: Like I haven't done any homework tonight, so...
Me: How would you say that this year differs from last year?
Katie: I feel like I have more of a support system living with seven girls that I'm close to. I don't feel as alone.
Me: So did you feel alone last year?
Katie. Yeah. I didn't have a roommate for most of the year, and when I did have a roommate, we didn't get along.
Me: What about you, Leah?
Leah: I feel like I found my little niche. Not that last year I didn't have a good group of people, but now I feel really confident in everything I do here because I know I always have people to fall back on.
Katie: It also got me more involved in activities.
Leah: Yeah, just general confidence. Knowing you have friends who support you makes it so much easier to spread your wings and try out different things.
Sarah: This year, if I have issues, I have seven other people to talk to and last year I had a terrible life.
At which point, we all laughed.
Sar: Sorry, it's true.
Rach: Wait, what was the question?
Sar: Oh God, this again.
Rach: Sorry, I keep zoning out.
Me: *repeats question*
Rach: Um... um.. I'm a lot happier this year and I feel, I feel more *20 min pause* I feel like, I don't know, what's the word? Are you writing down everything I say? Are you really? STOP. I feel more supported. Or more in a group or whatever.
At this point, Tabitha entered the room, so I asked her if she would join the conversation.
Me: Do you feel like you've gotten close to the other suites who live in the same building as you?
Katie: I honestly feel like we've gotten closest to the boys upstairs.
Rach: Upstairs yes and maybe a little the guys to the right.
Tab: Yeah, the girls upstairs I've never seen.
Me: Hm, ok, well do you guys feel isolated at all living in a suite compared to a dorm?
Katie: No, but I never really talked to anyone in my dorm so I don't know if my opinion counts.
Leah: I mean the Sem (a freshman residence hall) really was close as an overall dorm community. But, I think living in a suite makes me put more effort into making friends in the activities I participate in, so I think it's better in the long run and really works out.
Me: Ok, fun question! What's your favorite thing we've done as a suite so far this year?
Katie: Decorating for Halloween.
Leah: Yeah, I agree. Or, even just like sitting around and eating pasta together.
Katie: No, no, no. Our pow-wow the other day! When we all took some time to vent about our problems and give each other advice.
Leah: True. Basically anything and everything we've done together.
Rach: Wait..I was looking at a text. I'm sorry. I'm gonna sound like a crazy person. Don't write that. Can you stop? Oh my God.
Me: Now answer the question.
Sarah: What's the question. Tell me the question. Please, Cailey.
Me: *repeats question*
Rach: Everything.
Sar: I like when we all got Bertuccis.
Me: Which time?
Rach: Oh, I liked when we all went to the Cape this summer because that started our friendship.
At this point I had pretty much lost all of their attention. Sarah kept talking about a girl who had braces that were very oddly placed on her teeth. Tab wouldn't stop talking about making pasta and then left the room to go make pasta, so I figured I would end the interview.
So, there you have it. If you're overwhelmed by the idea of living in a suite, don't be! Living with a bunch of girls sounds like it could be drama city, but with the right group of girls, it won't be. I went into this suite completely blind. I knew Katrina from a class we had together and she introduced me to everyone else. Though that was really scary, I've never gotten closer to a group of girls quicker. I'm so thankful to say I live with my seven best friends. I wouldn't change a thing.
