Dear Roommate Who Also Happens to Be My Best Friend,

It's only been one quarter since we've started college together and we have so much more ahead of us, but so far...

We've proved them wrong.

A few months ago we found out we were both going to Cal Poly and we were excited beyond comprehension. We chose what kind of dorm we wanted together, we looked for other roommates together, we went to Open House together, we picked out decorations together, we switched our classes together. We did everything together. And everything included going to Soar.

The second I saw your face after a few weeks being out of state and not seeing you instantly put me at ease. Realizing that we were in the same Soar group was even better. We entered the group introducing ourselves to people in unison. We were stuck like glue and I was ready to take on college with you. But within that one day and a half of orientation, my idea of starting college with one of my best friends quickly shifted. We were welcomed by comments and anecdotes about how best friends never stayed best friends and how rooming together ruined friendships.

That's when the doubts took over.

After all the warnings, I wasn't so sure about rooming with you anymore. I didn't want to lose you as a friend. I didn't want to just tolerate you. I didn't want all those stories we heard from older college students to be our story. And to be quite frank, I was freaking out.

And then school started.

I was nervous about everything I could've been possibly nervous about. I was nervous about my classes, our roommates, making friends. I was scared. But everything was easier with my best friend by my side.

In all honestly, sometimes you get on my last nerve. But you always do something that makes me remember how great of a person you truly are. Not everyone is perfect and you're not always going to be on the same wavelength as your roomie, but when you have someone who has known you so well for so long, college becomes a little less scary.

I didn't have to act cool or pretend to be interested in something I'm not to get along with you. I got to be myself from the get go and the confidence i gained from being myself around you allowed me to be true to myself with everyone else. I didn't have to worry about being judged because I knew you would be my friend regardless. I burped aloud around you, I danced like an idiot around you, I sang badly around you, I changed my clothes and ran around in my underwear around you, I had quarter-life crises around you. And so far, you've stuck around.

Everything from taking on classes with some of the worst teachers on campus to meeting new people to joining clubs became exponentially more fun and exciting because of you.

So roommate, thank you for being a pretty wonderful best friend. And best friend, thank you for being a pretty wonderful roommate. Thank you for the late night deep talks, the interesting meals we've tried to cook together, the adventures to downtown, and the words of encouragement. Thank you for the good advice, and the real talk. Thank you for being straight with me from the get go. Thank you for being late to your meeting just to calm me down when I was freaking out about life. Thank you for every single time you put me before yourself.

Thank you for being the best.