It’s a new year and high school seniors are finally hearing back about their acceptance to the colleges of their dreams. There is a lot to be worrying about when it comes to picking your school and committing to enrollment there, such as meal plans, living arrangements, the decision to join Greek life when it’s time, etc.

However, from my personal experience, the absolutely most stressful time about the college process was finding a roommate.

I, like many, wanted my roommate to be my absolute best friend, my long lost sister, and my other half. I had all these expectations that I wanted her to fulfill and decided that I was going to be very picky.

Because I was so eager to know who my roommate was going to be, I decided to start looking for one about three weeks after I was accepted to UNH in mid-March. This was a very early time to start looking for a roommate because many people had not made their decisions about where they were going to attend school yet.

Due to that, I didn’t know anyone else that was going to UNH, so I started looking on the incoming freshman Facebook group. There, many people would post status’ with a few sentences about what they were like and what they were looking for.

I scrolled through, reading almost everyone’s posts, and I found a girl who seemed very similar to me: her hobbies were listening to music, going to concerts, partying, etc. She seemed outgoing and friendly, so I decided to send her a message.

We ended up hitting it off, having almost all of the same interests and getting along really well. We talked through social media and texting throughout the whole time from March to move in day in late August, until we were finally able to meet.

We had also found out that we were going to be placed in a forced triple dorm, meaning that we would be forced to live with a third person. My original roommate and I were scared because neither of us knew the new roommate, nor did we speak to her before move-in.

We both weren’t too excited to be in a triple, but it ended up working out so much better than we could have imagined.

As school started and the days went on, me and my original roommate remained friends, but we didn’t really have the bond that I thought we had over the phone. We still got along fine and could live with each other, but we were nothing more than roommates.

Ironically, the randomly assigned third roommate with us ended up turning into my best friend at school. And my original roommate moved out to be in a double with friends she made in another dorm. So me and my new best friend now have a double.

It’s crazy how things work out, but in the end, everything always does. My original roommate and I still keep in touch as acquaintances.

So, my advice to the senior in high school who is anxious to find her roommate? Do not stress! You never know what could happen with rooming situations, so don’t assume too much of someone.

Your roommate might not be your best friend, and if that’s the case then as long as you can live with them you have nothing to worry about.