College begins and ends with your roommates, literally. They are the first people you encounter and become close to when moving into dorms freshman year (or when you fly to Europe to begin a study abroad program). The transition from high school to college is definitely bumpy at first, and for some people, it is their first time sharing a personal space with others. It's scary and uncomfortable at first, yet it is also incredibly fun and exciting. Having a roommate forces you to become more patient, more humble, kind, and open.

If you ask any incoming freshman student what they are most nervous about in entering college, they will all share the same fear of who their roommate will be. Everyone has heard horror stories of roomies from those who have stolen items, dragged their mattresses out of their rooms, and committed every violation of personal space you can think of. While sometimes these horrors occur, most of the time you end up with a compatible roomie who has some of the same interests and fears as you, and you become friends during the next four years of forming your future.

A roommate is a core part of the college experience because they learn more about you by living with you than any other friend you make in writing for college or biology class. A roommate is the one who literally sees you at your worst and best, maybe after an extremely rough day of classes (or a night out) or when you get an email notifying you that you got a paid summer internship. College is weird in the sense that it throws you into an entirely new arena without the constant guidance of your parents to judge situations and people. For once, you completely make your own decisions and your roommates become your biggest cheerleaders and support system.

In high school, maybe you went home after lacrosse practice to your dog, mom cooking dinner, and brother watching TV in the other room, but now you come home to either eight people trying to cook dinner at once or no one at all. I love the times when I come downstairs to make a cup of coffee before my 8am class with my other roomie who also has an 8am. Some days we are completely silent as we make our cups and other days we are full of chatter, but it's always nice to share the same routine together. Other times I get a text to go to the gym after class, go to a movie or just to make dinner together, and texts like those are my favorite because it creates the sense of a family away from home.

Living with other people isn't easy, but it teaches you more people-skills you could ever learn that if you lived by yourself. Balancing chores and schedules between eight people in one house isn't simple or orderly, but these skills only prepare you for the real world. Chances are you will have to share an apartment in a big city upon graduating, and all of the roommate experiences you have had previously will prepare you for the big leap into adulthood. Not to mention that these people will be tied to you after seeing all your sides from the good to the ugly. They will lift you up when you're down, and celebrate your small victories with you. They will eat Ben & Jerry's with you for dinner or be your go-to's to finish a bottle of wine and vent about the latest problems in your life. Your roommates are your bestfriends, and they will teach you more than you will ever know.