We've all heard the stories. Or should I say, we've all heard the horror stories. They're inevitable at every college. And in the weeks I spent preparing to make the two and a half hour trek to the concrete jungle, I worried that I'd be affected by the same plague.
You guessed it. I'm talking about having a "bad roommate." I'm not a fan of this terminology, however, because no roommate is "bad" per say. Personally, I think if you stick two people in what feels like a shoebox size room, you're asking for them not to get along. Nevertheless, sometimes you get the short end of the stick, and you end up in more quarrels with your roommate than you did at home with your sister (if that's even possible).
Surprisingly, I didn't have such an experience. I'm writing this article as a first-semester sophomore who has lived with (and loved) her roommate since the first day of freshman year. I constantly hear the phrase, "You're so lucky you get along with your roommate," but I don't think it's luck at all. You may not believe in fate or destiny, but after a years worth of laughter, tears, boys, stress, and everything in between, I can't help but trust that Sarah and I were (brace yourself for a moment of cheesiness) meant to be. So, I guess you could say I have fate to thank for my friendship with Sarah.
On April 25, I "casually" (and now that I look back at it, embarrassingly) slid into Sarah's Facebook DM's. I felt like a teenage boy asking his high school crush to the prom. Anyway, after countless weeks of awkward conversation including our music taste and our go-to shows to binge watch on Netflix, I "popped the question" and as I'm sure you've already guessed, she said yes! So, I guess you could say I have Facebook to thank for my friendship with Sarah, too.
Fast forward to the end of August, move-in day to be exact, and I was more hopeful for us to get along than I was nervous about my classes. We spent the first few weeks together, being a typical freshman who was afraid to go anywhere alone. But when other roommates began finding comfort in separate groups, Sarah and I continued to bond.
So now, here we are, only 3 weeks into September and already drowning in the stress of our weekly routines, and I find myself constantly distracted by the urge to reflect on my first year at Fordham. So I guess this is where I'll give my third thanks. Fordham has shown me that I am altogether capable of living on my own, learning on my own, and succeeding on my own, but that I shouldn't always feel as if I am on my own. Finding a support system to assist you in the greatest and the worst times of college and beyond is essential, and thankfully I have found that in Fordham, and I have especially found that in Sarah.
Maybe you don't believe in fate, and maybe you think of events like having a "bad roommate" as just plain unlucky, but I strongly encourage you to reflect on the major events of your life, maybe even the not so major events, too, and maybe you'll find, like me, that everything happens for a reason. And maybe you'll find, also like me, that fate is sometimes on your side.
