Going into my third year of college, people often ask me how I have managed to keep the same roommate for all of this time and how we have been able to be around each other so much. The answer is the perfect roommate.

Now, reading the term perfect roommate, you’re probably telling yourself there is no such thing as a perfect roommate and guess what? You’re absolutely correct. Technically, no one is all the way perfect; we all have our flaws. What I mean when I say perfect roommate is that we have learned over the past couple of years how to deal with one another. Not every day is sunshine and happiness, there are days where we are both tired and don’t speak much. But we have made living together work.

Our first semester together, we took our time in getting what were the other likes and dislikes. It’s as though you’re beginning to form a whole new relationship. You know when you first start dating someone and you have to learn things about them? Well, the same thing goes for having a roommate. You have to get to know the other person if you want it to work.

My roommate and I are two totally different people as well. Elizabeth, my roommate, is very friendly, loves to make new friends and meet people all the time, is always energetic, and mostly shows her emotions. She’s the one that will most likely talk about her day, whether good or bad. I am friendly as well, but will only go to a certain extent in getting to know someone. I don’t mind speaking, but not all day long in super high energy. I am the more nonchalant roommate and don’t really show my emotions. I tend to be energetic when I’m teaching my class or conducting some sort of business, but not all day every day. I rarely go into our room and talk about my day unless I deem it necessary.

Not only are we different emotionally, but also in our education and hobbies. Elizabeth loves to sing and is in our school’s choir, she will be attending our nursing school, and she’s in one of the well-known sororities here on campus. I, on the other hand, love being involved with student leadership positions on campus such as Peer Mentor in the Black Student Union, and I love to be in the gym. We both have different friend groups that we hang with and our sides of the room are different. Elizabeth’s side has a lot of "Star Wars" and painted canvases of her sorority hanging up. My side has a big Ariana Grande poster and a big heart with pictures filled in of friends and family. Also my side of the room is more neutral colored with a lot of SpongeBob merchandise. She has more of the brighter colors with patterns.

So, as you can see, we are indeed different, but we’ve learned to come together and be one. We also sometimes get together once a month and have “roomie days,” where we go out and shop and grab lunch or dinner.

I say all of this to say that it is possible to have “the perfect roommate.” You have to work with each other just like any other relationship you have. It indeed takes time, but I guarantee it’s worth the time and effort. I’m here for her just like she’s here for me.