Finally being able to live off-campus and move into your very first apartment with your best friend can be one of the most amazing experiences ever. You are now free from sneaking alcohol past your RAs or sharing a bathroom with 20 other girls.
In my case, my roommate and I looked at apartment after apartment and when we were just about ready to live in our cars, we found the PERFECT place. We started making lists of what each of us would bring once we moved in, and constantly daydreamed about the parties we would throw and all the memories we would make together.
Once we were all settled and got into the swing of things, everything was fine -- perfect, actually! We made dinner together and heart-to-hearts became routine. I truly didn't think that things could get much better. I was living in a sweet little apartment with my best friend, what could possibly go wrong?
But as time went on, things start to get a little rocky. I liked to head home on the weekends to spend time with my family and boyfriend, but that wasn't OK with her. The first time I went home was the second weekend of the semester, and when I came back she didn't talk to me for a week. A WEEK. I apologized as I understood that going home so early in the semester probably wasn't necessary, so things were relatively smooth for the next couple months.
And then December rolled around... One day, out of nowhere she stopped talking to me. No warning, no signs, just silence. I began to realize that no matter what I said or did to diffuse the situation would only restart the cycle of her hating me, so I didn't do anything. We lived in silence for the last couple of weeks of the semester.
The funny thing is, I'm kind of relieved this whole situation happened. I won't lie, at first, I hated it. I would cry and wonder what I did to make someone hate me so much that they couldn't even bear to speak a single word to me. But as I spent the last couple weeks of the semester completely alone, I began to enjoy it. Sure, it hurt to see my friends from home post pictures with their roommates on Instagram, but I realized that I would rather have no one than fake a friendship with someone I didn't really want to associate myself with anymore.
If you find yourself in a situation where you are living with someone who hates you, it is important to remember to not act irrationally. It would be easy to stick Post-it notes all over the kitchen, passive-aggressively claiming the toaster is ONLY yours now, but by not acting like a complete fool, you will show that you are the more mature one.
You will also learn that you probably live better on your own. This way there will be no reason for any sort of conflict, and your apartment can finally be your home away from home. It may seem strange to live alone at first, but in the long run you will be so happy you did it (trust me).
When you and your roommate decide to go your separate ways, it may feel like your world is falling apart. You feel so uncomfortable in your own home and you can't even avoid it. However, once you realize that by not negatively reacting to the situation you have become the better person, things start to look up. As a result of this situation, I learned that losing friends isn't the worst thing in the world. Initially it may seem that way, but as time goes on you will realize that those people obviously were not meant to be in your life and you are much better off.
So, if you are going through a tough time with a roommate, or even just a close friend who you feel you are drifting away from, just remember that time (and not writing passive-aggressive Post-it notes) will mend the situation.
