Dear roomie,

Well, it's finally here. Move out day. It seems like just yesterday it was summer and we were frantically texting each other, picking out colors and who’s bringing what. I was excited and nervous and honestly had no idea what to expect. Everyone has heard the horror stories about college roommates… I prayed that we wouldn’t become one of those stories.

On move-in day, I was just hoping for nothing to go wrong. I never could have imagined the year being this amazing. We went from acquaintances to best friends. I can hardly remember what my life was like before I had you in it. You were a huge part of making my freshman year of college as amazing as it was. You have been nothing but a blessing in my life, and I have several things— both trivial and meaningful— to thank you for.

At the beginning of the year, thank you for comforting me through my homesickness. You never made me feel like I was being silly or immature; you always let me know that I was not alone. You let me call my mom crying in our dorm room, and when I got off the phone you were always there to give me a hug and some chocolate. I could not ask for a more supportive or loving roommate.

Thank you for going on adventures with me. Whether it was the beginning of the year, when adventure qualified as a trip to the student center, or the time we went ice skating and had to hold hands the entire time, thanks for always being willing to come along for the ride. New experiences are so much more fun with someone to share them with.

Thank you for sharing your friends with me. You are outgoing and bubbly, I am reserved and shy. You had a much easier time making friends than I did. When you did meet these friends, you didn’t abandon me. You brought me with you. You encouraged me to try new things, and I cannot thank you enough for that.

Thank you for always coming to the rescue when I lock myself out of the room. Especially that time that I was in the shower. Not having to take a trip down to the lobby in my towel definitely made my first week of college a little brighter. When I lost my keys, thank you for helping me tear our room apart until I finally found them in between the pages of my notebook.

Thanks for sharing your food with me. I’m sorry for always eating the majority of the Chips Ahoy! Your willpower is so much better than mine.

After eating the entire row of cookies, thanks for motivating me to go to the gym. I know that I can be a lazy, stubborn pain in the butt, and your efforts were sometimes for nothing, but I appreciate you watching out for me.

Thank you for our random dance parties. Thanks for putting up with my singing— but thank you even more for joining right in with me. Thank you for not laughing (too hard) at my (lack of) dance moves, because we both know the best stress relief is Disney pandora and karaoke. There’s nothing quite like belting out High School Musical before a big test. And a TSwift dance party is always appropriate.

Thank you for the fashion advice. I really don’t know how I used to get dressed without a second opinion on my outfit, but expect lots of text messages with pictures this summer. Also, thanks for sharing your closet with me. Another reason we were the perfect roommates— same size in clothes and shoes. I’m going to miss having double the amount of clothes to choose from.

Thank you for not killing me when I dropped something getting ready for my 8am class. I swear I was trying to be quiet so you could sleep, but my clumsiness increases tenfold before 9am.

Thank you for always knowing when to motivate me to study, and when to encourage a Netflix binge session. You helped me stay sane while also being productive, and both my GPA and my mental health thank you.

When my procrastination did catch up to me, thank you for physically dragging me to the library. You know that I’m more productive there even though I hate that wretched place. Once you finally got me in the building, thank you for staying there with me until 2am when I finally finished that paper due at 9.

Thank you for not complaining about my mess. I'm usually a pretty neat person, but when I start getting stressed or busy, The state of my half of the room goes downhill fast. Thanks for always trusting that I will clean it up eventually.

Thank you for letting me keep our window open all winter. Even though we could practically see our breath in our room and we had to wear scarves and coats throughout the day, I swear that in my lofted bed it was 90 degrees.

Thank you for feeding my Netflix obsession. You never steered me wrong when it came to new series to watch. Thanks for waiting to watch certain series with me. I promise, one day we will finally finish Jane the Virgin.

Thank you for going out with me even when you had planned to do homework on a Saturday night. I know, I'm a horrible influence, but everything was more fun when we did it together. There is no one else I'd rather awkwardly attempt to dance next to.

Thank you for staying in with me those weekend nights where a movie night was necessary. Thanks for cuddling with me on your bed and tolerating my cheesy rom-coms.

Thank you for being my go-to date for any event. Who needs boys when you have a roommate as gorgeous and fun as mine?

Thank you for listening to me vent. For someone who hates drama, I sure had a lot of it at certain points in the year. You never complained, no matter how many times you heard the same story over and over as I told it to different people. Thanks for listening to me gush over boys I ended up only talking to once.

Thank you for knowing how to read my emotions. Even when I have no intention of telling you something that I’m worried about, you always seem to know. You can always judge when I need to talk about something, and when I just need some quiet. You know when to let me cry and curse, and when to tell me that it’s not the big deal that I’m making it.

Thank you for always believing in me, especially when I started to lose faith in myself. You were always there when I needed you, and somehow you always knew what to say. College can be stressful for so many different reasons, but you showed me that I could get through it all no matter what.

Finally, and probably most importantly, thank you for helping to make this place my home. Together we took on a huge new adventure, and it's hard to believe that just nine months ago, we felt like strangers lost in this place. Now, we can walk around confident because we know that this is exactly where we belong.

I know that a lot of people don’t get so lucky with their first roommate, but you honestly made my freshman year one of the best times of my life. You have become one of my best friends, and continue to make my whole world brighter each and every day. I wish we could just spend the summer here, but I know we both have things to take care of back at our other home. I’m going to miss you like crazy this summer, but thank God we live close to each other. Expect me at your front door on occasion, asking to sleep over just because I miss you. Thank you for everything. I love you!

Love,

Your roomie