My freshman year of college, my roommate and I shared a tiny shoebox of a room that we constantly tried to rearrange to seem larger, with little success. Although I technically had one roommate, we quickly became friends with the two girls in the room across from us, and the four of us spent a borderline unhealthy amount of time together. Living with my best friends may have enabled a little more procrastination than I care to admit, but the advantages were more than worth it in the long run. Over the past year, my self-appointed roommates (who I will actually be living with next year) began to play important roles in my life, without which my freshman year would've been in shambles.

1. Parents: I'm sure that my friends have a bunch of nice words that they could use to describe me with, however I'm even more sure that put-together is not one of them. I'm only a little embarrassed to admit how dependent I was on my roommates for the past year, although probably not nearly as much as I should be. Running back to my room multiple times every morning to get something that I forgot has become my sad reality, and is one that my friends must live with every day. I lost count of how many times I forgot my keys in my room and had to text my roommate to come back and unlock the door--luckily it only happened once while I was in a towel. About halfway into my first semester, all of my friends learned to ask me if I had my keys, phone, and bag whenever we left the dorm. Somehow, they put up with this for an entire year, and only made fun of me minimally for it.
2. Tutors: Somehow I was lucky enough to make friends that are not only kind and funny, but also ridiculously smart. So not only are they fun to hang out with, but also useful. During class registration my second semester, I made sure to take classes with some of my friends, and it made studying for exams and doing work a little less painful. Whenever I was confused about the material, I found that talking it through with a friend or two could be really helpful.
3. Therapists: I don't consider myself an overly emotional person, but I also don't think I know anyone who made it through freshman year of college without crying at least once. Sometimes I needed advice, other times I needed someone to tell me I was justified in a situation, and occasionally I just needed someone to listen to me complain until I was done. Regardless, my friends were there every single time I needed something, even if I was being ridiculous (which was most of the time).
4. Motivators: Freshman year was, among many other things, exhausting. Throughout the school year, I found it easy to become overwhelmed and burnt out, and I spend a lot of time debating whether or not I really needed to get out of bed. Between studying, going to the gym, or even just going out for a night, there were a lot of things that I found it hard to force myself to do when I was tired. Luckily, my friends were quick to either convince, harass, or guilt me into doing the things that I needed to do. Although there were times that I hated them for it, I have them to thank for my passing grades and maintained sanity.
5. Best Friends: Before my freshman year, a lot of people told me that my roommates didn't have to be my closest friends. They said that as long as I got along with them and we had an understanding of mutual respect, it would turn out fine. Although I'm sure this is completely true, and I know many people who had it turn out this way, I'm glad that it wasn't the case for me.

So, to my roommates: Thanks for an amazing first year, and I promise to try and be less dependent on you all during this upcoming one. But probably not.