Roommates in my opinion, make everything in your college experience, if you and your roommate aren't friends or don't get along, it takes a mental toll on you. You put in all this effort, only to realize that you and that person weren't meant to be friends, or even worse; not meant to live together. My freshman year roommate and I were friends, but we were never very close. We tried super hard in the beginning, even joining the same friend group. Over time, we realized that we just aren't the same and there was nothing wrong with that. We had bonded over the summer before we moved in, but that was it. There's no real horror story, I will forever be grateful that I can still call her a friend of mine to this day. Despite us not having a big falling out and us still being friend, I was still a little upset. I felt like I was missing out on something everyone else seemed to have: a new best friend. Everyone else around me was becoming best friends with their roommates, and I was falling into a deeper hole of not.
This year, I had the opportunity to live with a new roommate. We'd known each other from mutual friends and clicked from the moment we started talking. I was wary of the change because I knew how I got around new people, but she was able to prove me wrong.
My preconceived notions were proven wrong from the moment we started talking. We kept in contact all summer and became closer as the days went out, talking almost everyday. We learned that we had a lot in common, but also saw that we didn't agree on everything. For the first time, I was excited to come into school and say that my roommate is truly a close friend of mine. That being said, I did have a lot of fears of living with with a new person, someone who had already created such strong bonds with other people in our apartment. Throughout the month of living together, she has done nothing but reassure me over and over again of this relationship, and has made me feel so secure with someone; something that is very hard for me. I am forever thankful for this friendship, and all the memories that will come out from it in the future. You have to find your people in college and love them hard, but that being said don't go into college looking for your person. That person will come to you, always. Find someone to live with who gets to know you, and wants to talk to you and know whats wrong. That's something that I didn't have my freshman year, but I am grateful for having that this year.
The roommate bond isn't about living together in such a small space -- it's all about the person you're paired with.
Living with a stranger is scary, but the risk is worth what may come from it. If I hadn't taken the chance and agreed to get to know my roommate and live with her,I never would've truly met one of my best friends; I'm having a very hard time wrapping my mind around that fact. That is what makes roommates so great; you can't always choose them (except in my case I could) , but they'll change your life forever.
