My first thoughts about being assigned a random roommate as I entered my freshman year of college weren’t positive – maybe even downright scary. I thought, “Great, I’ve seen too many Lifetime movies where the roommate turns psycho…” I had no idea what my roommate would be like or if we would even have similarities. However, coming from out-of-state and only knowing a handful of people at Auburn, I decided that a random roommate would be the best option for my “college experience." A little variety would be good in my life, I hoped. I had no idea that she would become my best friend, but here are six reasons that she did:
1. Communication Abundance
We never get tired of communicating. Tagging each other in Instagram memes of Kim K’s crying face and relating it to our current life situation counts as communication, right? Yelling “hey” or “bye” each time we come through the door. Or texting each other about that one kid who is always doing that one thing. Relationship problems. What we ate for lunch. Life issues. It’s all there between us. We never seem to run out of talking points.
2. Let’s Eat
I don’t ever have to worry about eating alone. If I want Krystal at 3 a.m., she grabs her keys and offers to drive. Weekly, we check the dining hall hours and menu and then plan a time to go together. Eating at the 24-hour McDonald’s after a night out has become routine. Meeting each other in the kitchen at lunchtime just so we don’t eat alone. Going into each other’s rooms with snacks for each other. Having meals together, whether with family or friends, really does create bonds. Some of our best conversations happen over a plate of nachos.
3. TV Show Bingeing
You know those shows on MTV that just look heinous, but you decide to watch one and you secretly love it? That’s my roommate and me. Are You the One, The Challenge, The Voice, and The Bachelor, are a few of our guilty (and not so guilty) TV pleasures. Together, we’ve become Olympic judges, sports announcers, and music critics. And, we’ve actually become THE Bachelor and decided which woman was the best for the candidate.
4. Could I Have This Dance?
Dancing is fun and a good stress reliever, and it’s our favorite thing to do together. Are we good at it? Maybe not, but I’ve never really asked anyone else around us. But together, we conquer: alone in our apartment, on a table, in the car, at the Mexican restaurant, in Wal-Mart. You name that dance move you want to see, we have it. By the way, WE think we’re good at it. And don’t even get me started on our karaoke skills.5. A Motivational Cheerleader
If I’m being irrational, she’ll tell me. If I’m being too hard on myself, she tells me. If I need to try harder at something instead of giving up, she tells me. She constantly encourages me to better myself, and I reciprocate. That’s how things work between us. Never have I ever met someone who constantly tries to uplift and encourage me, but she always does. This, I have learned, is an important quality in a best friend.
6. My Other Half
The five reasons listed above bring me to reason number six. I’ve never found someone so much like me in my lifetime. I don’t have a sister; in fact, I have no siblings – I’m an only child. So clicking with my roommate in a way that made me feel like I finally have the sister I never had has been an amazing experience – even life changing.
I realize my experience isn’t all that unique. Everyone who attends college away from home usually gets matched with someone they’ve never met. Many have great experiences, some turn disastrous, and still others are just mediocre. But I never would’ve thought that being assigned a random roommate would have such an impact on my life; nor did I expect that she would become my best friend – my soul sister. It’s like the Auburn University housing department was able to look deep into both of our souls, without even knowing either of us, and evaluate our hearts, minds, humor, intelligence, and mad karaoke skills – and then proclaim, “We’ve found your best friend.”
