Have you ever heard that saying “trying to cram ten pounds worth of stuff into a five pound sack”? That’s kind of what living in an extended triple is like with 4 girls. Except with ten times more stuff. I am just your ordinary freshman, living the “college dream” in the decent/adequate dorms that they have here at the University of Minnesota. Having a roommate is great, except that when you have three of them it can be a bit overwhelming. So, I have compiled a list of what it’s like to have not just one roommate, but three!
1. You will never know what privacy is anymore.
I am an only child, so living with three other people has been quite an adjustment. I took for granted the number of times I was able to come back from a shower and walk around in just little to no clothing. Now I change in a closet that is the size of a small port-a-potty. Not to mention, anytime you have a bad day and want to cry your eyeballs out, you have to be quiet, because chances are you have at least one of your roommates sitting in the room with you.
2. You either learn how to sleep deeply or never know what sleeping in means again.
If you’ve ever wanted to know what Hell sounds like, set four alarms, all with different ringtones and times, add in one roommate who hits snooze a lot, another one who wakes up before the sun rises and you’re all set to go. Not to mention, when people are getting ready, they’re kind of loud. I know they don’t mean to be, but that’s just what happens when you get ready. I truly have wanted to kill one of my dearest roommates, solely out of morning aggression, because she will hit snooze on her alarm 3 times at least and let it ring for an obnoxious amount of time.
3. You can always rely on somebody being there to talk to.
It was really weird for me to go from a house that’s usually quiet, to be able to talk to my friends about stuff any time, even when we're all tucked away in bed. I think my favorite part about living with so many people is that my deepest and most influential conversations have been just sitting at our desks, doing homework, and talking to some of my very favorite people.
4. There is (hopefully) at least one person from which you can borrow clothing/stuff all the time.
Actually, I don’t get to benefit from this one because I happen to tower over my small roommates and my feet are about two sizes too big for their dainty, small feet. However, in theory, two of my roommates always get to swap clothing when we’re all going to go out that night, and if I could, you would totally catch me hopping on that train!
5. Thinking about that Pinterest-perfect looking room? Forget about it.
Funny story here, when I first met one of my roommates, she was going off in the group chat about how she wanted the room to look, what color scheme it should be and how we should decorate it. Little did we know that we’d end up with two more people and that would definitely change. Now we have four entirely different themes, all different patterned bedspreads and each of us have added our own style into our cozy little room.
6. Got friends? Tell them to bring their own chair.
You would think that having four people in the room would somehow mean you have more space for friends, but half the time, our friends end up sitting on either a bed or on a small cube. Imagine trying to shove a handful of people into a small space…now try shoving like 7 more people into that small space. Most normal doubles have the beds lofted, so that they can place a futon under a bed, except we have bunk beds so we can’t do that.
7. You’ll learn about new and different things that you might never have known before.
Before I met some of my closest friends, I had never known what French sounds like, what living in a small town is like, what good poetry sounds like, different types of music, and different types of food (shout out to my roommate for eating Hot Cheetos and Tostitos cheese).
8. You’ll become super close, super fast.
Growing up, I never had those concrete friendships with people, but since I literally live with my friends now, it’s too easy to become super close! I’ve developed relationships with these people that are so deep it doesn’t feel like I’ve only known them for about 8 months instead of years. I’ve become so comfortable, and they’ve been there with me for some of the most momentous events of my life, so it’s hard not to feel a deep bond with all of my roomies.
9. You always have someone to go do things with.
It’s really nice to always have at least one person who is down to go to things with you, whether that be going to the store, heading to the gym or even just going down to the dining hall for some dinner. It’s like always having someone there to make even the most time-consuming chores into something that’s a little more fun.
10. One mini fridge is simply not enough for four people.
This could be partly the fact that one of my roommates never knows when to throw away her leftovers or keeps a 12 pack of beer in the fridge at all times, but it just seems like the maximum size that they allow for dorms to have isn’t enough fridge space for four people. You’d think it’d be easy to divvy up how much space each person gets, except for the fact that fridges are not the cubical spaces that we think of them to be.
