There are thousands of articles floating around the Internet that talk about first college roommates and why they are so special. They are just that, special. And in my case, still around.
Around four years ago, I was in my high school AP Psychology class minding my own business like I did everyday. She walked in wearing a college sweatshirt of the same university I had decided to go to. I had known her for years as we went to middle school and all of high school together. She danced and I cheered so we would see each other pretty often, but we never really hung out. I wasn’t really thinking when I asked her to be my roommate. It just kind of came out and I probably looked a bit creepy. She told me she didn’t have a roommate yet so I told her to let me know if she would want to room with me in the dorms to avoid having random people in those close quarters.
After a summer of crafting and getting our room together, it was finally move in day. She got down there a few days before I did, so my parents and I didn’t have to deal with as much of a mess. After I got all my stuff in my room, my parents said goodbye. Then there I was, all alone, knowing that I wouldn’t be going home to the house I grew up in every night anymore. It was one of the loneliest but most exciting moments I had felt in my 18 years of life.
The first night, some of my best friends called me to come out with them. My roommate had been gone for hours so I didn’t even think twice about locking the door when I went to change my clothes. I should have though, because there I was standing in nothing but shorts and a bra when her and some of her guy friends came through the door. I just froze and she gasped a second, then herded the boys out of the room. She apologized way too much. I thought it was kind of funny. What a cliché thing to happen the first day you move to college. She still swears to this day she thought I was mad!
That semester we became pretty close. We bonded over having long distance relationships, crafting, and being from the same place. I had a car and she didn’t, so I was always driving us different places in our little college town. We would go shopping way too much and made a habit of going to Hobby Lobby when we “had nothing to do”. On the weekends, we decided to go home and I would take her to her parents' house on the way to my parents' house.
Toward the end of the semester, I decided I was going to transfer to a different university. She was sad, but not too heart broken, and neither was I. When the spring semester started and I was starting over yet again, that’s when I would say the friendship we have today really started. We called each other every day, I would pick her up and bring her to my school (only an hour away), and I would go visit her at my old school.
In the past few years, we have both grown into ourselves as most people in college do. We were always a little different than one another but I think that’s why we work so well as friends. There have been rocky times in our relationship, but that comes with any person who becomes a big part of your life. We have always managed to get through our troubles and move on. She is one of the biggest blessings in my life. She calls to talk about once a week as we are both very busy, and we will talk for hours about everything from future weekend plans to how much we despise school to our future beach house we plan to have.
I am a firm believer that your very first college roommate is always going to be someone you remember. Whether they are absolutely terrible or practically perfect, they will shape your college years in some way. I am lucky to say that I had the best first roommate I could have asked for. She has become like a sister to me and someone I live life with.
Our lives will take us to different places, but I know that we will always be by each other’s side.
Thank you for being a great friend, Old Sport.
Happy Birthday and cheers to many more celebrations together!
