Walking into my freshman dorm room for the first time was crazy weird. I thought about it for months, like how I wanted to decorate, and what side of the room I wanted. Suddenly there I was standing in the middle of my home for the next eight months. I moved in earlier than my roommate so I had two nights alone in this bland white room. Even with my mattress pad, sheets, and pillows, it was not home yet. The first time it started to feel homey was when my roommate moved in and the remaining half of the room was filled with color.

Lucky for me, my roommate and I got along extremely well. Monday nights were spent watching "Dancing With The Stars," and Wednesday night homework slumps were spent blasting cheesy music. We made it a welcoming place, and often times friends would congregate there before events.

But do not be fooled, this room had its fair share of clogged shower drains and spiders, not to mention the ghost (nicknamed Norbert) who would knock things off fridges and turn on the TV when we weren’t home. Although there were downsides, I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world.

So to the people who will inherit this room in a few weeks, I wish the bad things on you. I hope that you fight the spiders in the bathroom together because, trust me, nothing brings two people together more than fighting a spider. I hope Norbert takes advantage of your absence and watches the local news. I hope that the need to catch your roommates every embarrassing move takes over and another Snapchat battle ensues. I hope that one of you runs out of toilet paper and has to text the other one to run down to the front desk to get more.

But more than anything, I wish all these good things on you. I hope that you get along great, not just with each other, but with your suitemates. I hope the music played between those walls is loud and carefree. I hope you tell each other about your days and laugh at one another if one of you did something stupid. I hope the command hooks treat your wall paint better than it treated ours. Lastly, I hope you keep the room cleaner than we did.

This room contains many of the best memories I have of freshman year, and I hope that it will hold some of yours. It is filled with laughter, tears, and love. If you’re open to it, it really will become your home away from home.

P.S. Don’t be freaked out if two random girls knock on the door someday this year, we’re just checking on Norbert.