When I signed my lease last March, I didn’t realize that I’d end up with two roommates instead of one. I signed for a two-bedroom apartment on North Campus with a girl I’d met during freshman year, and I was ecstatic. She and I had clicked so fast, and I was excited to have a place of my own with someone I got along with so well. Our lease didn’t start until late August, and I have to say, I was pretty bummed. I went home for the summer and started working, and plans changed and then I ended up not being able to move into my apartment until very close to when classes started.

A few weeks into summer, my roommate texted me and asked if her boyfriend could stay with her for a bit when the lease started. He had gotten a transfer and approved to be at a higher position in the branch of his company that is located in Bellingham. I didn’t really care; I wouldn’t even be living there anyways. So a while after she moved in and our lease started, he moved in with her. I kept working back in my hometown, and from what it seemed like, they were happy.

I moved in a few days before school started, and when I got to Bellingham (my college town), my roomie’s boyfriend was the only one at the apartment. She was at work. He helped me move my stuff in and I can’t say it wasn’t weird at first because it was. I’d met him a few times before, and even gone to a Sounders game with the both of them, but we were by no means best friends. We danced around each other for the first few days, not really wanting to say or do anything wrong. When I asked my roommate when she thought he’d be moving out, she said she didn’t know and maybe he should stay. They were fine living together, and it would make rent cheaper.

This quickly became a problem in my eyes. I didn’t ask for another roommate, and I was very nervous about the problems it could cause. Dealing with three people’s habits, quirks and daily life is a lot more than dealing with that of two. What if they broke up? They’d been together a long time and hadn’t had any problems so far living together. I had already begun to feel like a guest in their home, despite the fact I had my own room, and I didn’t think this would make things better.

I was brewing about this for the next little bit when I came to realize that having two roommates was actually pretty nice. There’s always someone to make dinner, pick up groceries, or talk to. As my roommate's boyfriend and I started to talk more and become better friends, things became a lot easier. Connecting with someone because you’re forced into close quarters with them isn’t always the best circumstance, but in this case, it worked out. I have already started referring to them as “my roommates” rather than “my roommate and her boyfriend.”

I suppose the moral of the story is that everything is new and scary until to you give it a chance, but then when you do, it may really surprise you. I’m happy to have my unexpected roomie. I can’t guarantee things between the three of us will always be perfect, but for now, I’m excited to try.