This week, I have moved into my house for the semester with four new roommates. At the end of this week, my roommate back home will be sailing (well, flying) off to her own study abroad adventure (during which she will have limited access to Wi-Fi and won't be able to talk to me and is basically abandoning me and while I'm technically excited for her I'm also really mad at her selfishness...but I digress). So in honor of roommates, I wanted to write an articles outlining what makes an exceptional one.

There are the obvious qualities of course. Doesn't steal more than a bobby pin. Doesn't use your toothbrush. Keeps their mess on their side of the room. But like with most things, we should really set our standards a little higher. So if you want to become more than a good roommate, and even venture into being an exceptional roommate, here's a list to help you.

An exceptional roommate is...

11.) A Motivational Speaker

A good roommate knows you have three tests and a paper in two days and says, "Good Luck." An exceptional roommate knows you have three tests, a paper, a philanthropy event, and some drama with a classmate and thus prepares a motivational speech for you.

A motivational speech can be whatever length and can be as unpolished as you'd like. But an exceptional speech from an exceptional roommate typically skips the concept of luck and dives into reminders of past triumphs, accounts of assignments turned in late with little to no penalty, and a promise to make the weekend worth it if they just power through.

10.) A Brick Wall

A good roommate can hold a conversation with you about your life. An exceptional roommate knows when the time for conversation has ended and it's time to be a brick wall. Know how to sit there, react physically to her tales, and hold your comments to the end as your roommates rambles about whatever the heck she wants to ramble about.

9.) Yes Man

A good roommate will offer a well thought out opinion on whether or not their roommate should do the thing that are not sure they should do. An exceptional roommate skips the pro/con lists and asks if they can join.

8.) No Man

A good roommate saves you from dangerous and/or detrimental situations if they see you out a party. An exceptional roommate also saves you from the exact drink and boy they know you will regret the most in the morning.

7.) Warden

A good roommate sincerely hopes you finish your paper in a time. An exceptional roommate will stay in the room to ensure that you stay on track. They will then check up on you to make sure that your laptop is on the correct screen and your phone is face down on the other side of the room.

6.) Barista

A good roommate knows that you drink coffee before you leave for your class in the morning. An exceptional roommate will be able to buy the creamer that she will love. They can take "Surprise me," as an actual coffee order come back with the most satisfying latte of your life.

5.) Willy Wonka

A good roommate offers you a piece of chocolate as you return from a hard final exam. An exceptional roommate tapes a piece of chocolate on the door with a note saying 'Good Luck!' before you leave.

4.) A Waitress

A good roommate leaves room in the mini fridge for your things. An exceptional roommate gives you free range on all their leftovers in said fridge.

3.) A Library

A good roommate will sell you their old class books at a reasonable price. An exceptional roommate will exchange their old books for a double bottle of Moscato.

2.) IT Support

A good roommate feels your pain when you're struggling with the computer program your professor made you download or when your laptop crashes and deletes part of your essay. An exceptional roommate tries everything possible to work things out for you no matter their level of competency in the matter.

1.) Thesaurus

A good roommate wishes you luck on your essays. An exceptional roommate never tires of being the one to come up with that perfect and precise word or phrase to polish off the paper. An extraordinary roommate may even edit some pieces for you, but that's for another article.