My dear roommate,

It’s hard to believe that we’ve come to the end. Even as I write this, my brain denies that an entire semester has flown by in a breathless whirlwind of tailgating, parties, and exams, so much so that it doesn’t seem possible that break is upon us, the end of which will leave us an ocean apart. We always say no emotions, but you deserve a special kind of recognition for putting up with me this semester, and I couldn’t think of a more appropriate way to do so. I know that I’m not always the easiest to live with: my side is a black hole of clothes, coffee mugs, bows, and lip gloss; I don’t always take out the trash, and I get cranky before my coffee. And more often than not, I take you for granted. So as my parting gift in our last few days living together, I want to properly thank you for everything you’ve been this past semester.

Thank you for not holding my disorganized hoarder tendencies against me (even when our room necessitates hazard signs). Thanks for being my gym buddy by day and fellow bad influence by night. Thank you for the time I came back in tears after an accounting exam and you brought me Boom Chicka Pop and convinced me to go out on a Wednesday to forget the miserable experience. Thanks for staying up and talking about random things at 1 AM when we can’t sleep on Sunday nights. Thank you for taking care of me when I was sick and an irritable patient (and you were still recovering yourself). Thank you for letting me share your wardrobe when I get bored with my own clothes—and for being the same shoe size as me. Thank you for reminding me to do my laundry, submit paperwork, and get other real world things done (I think it's clear who the adult is in our relationship). Thanks for taking as many pictures as necessary to get an Insta-worthy one, and for switching sides halfway so I get my good side. On that social media note, thank you for starring in 99.99 percent of my Snap stories and far too many Instagrams (and always helping me find the good lighting. Lighting is key). Thank you for going on dining hall dates and getting up to get five rounds of food with me every time. Thanks for buying me fries at 2 a.m. when I run out of flex points one month into school because of my Starbucks addiction. Thank you for going to Starbucks with me 24/7 because of said addiction. Thank you for having a jam box to bring into the bathroom so we can have shower parties together. Thanks for being persuaded to watch Grey’s Anatomy way too late when we both should be studying. Thank you for splitting Ben & Jerry’s Cinnamon Buns with me so I don’t have to eat it all by myself. Thanks for buying me the Pillsbury Christmas sugar cookies just because you know I love the raw dough. Thank you for listening to me vent about my horrible group project so many times that you thought you were in the class too, and then for celebrating it being over with me. Thanks for humoring me by attempting to answer my never ending slew of medical questions even though you aren’t a real doctor (but is premed really so far off?). Thank you for never having any boundaries and accepting me for everything that I am (which is a lot, I know). Thank you for calling me out on the things that no one else can when I need to hear it (like when I need to wash my hair, real talk). Thanks for being my makeup artist before we go out and for straightening the pesky curls on the back of my head that I can never reach. Thank you for blasting Roses by the Chainsmokers on Monday mornings when we’re getting ready to get us pumped up for the day. Thanks for killing the spiders and anything with legs that make their way into our room (so traumatic). And thank you for always loving and supporting me through all the craziness of the semester, especially when I’m too upset to believe in myself. But most of all, thank you for being more of a surrogate sister to me than roommate, because you are what makes our room home and I’m forever grateful for that. If I could fit you in my suitcase I would bring you across the pond with me next semester, but sadly I think we’ll have to rely on FaceTime sessions and absurdly long sporadic texts to stay present in each other’s next chapter of junior year. I’m not too worried though—if we can survive living together in a glorified cube, I think we can make it through a transcontinental separation. Here’s to you dominating the MCAT and me chasing Prince Harry next semester—I can’t wait to exchange every detail when we’re reunited again.

Don’t miss me too much!

Love,

Your [crazy, absurd, messy, coffee-crazed] roommate