Ever since we were little, all my best friend and I could think about was to live together and go away to NYU and be in college. 18 years later, we aren't at NYU nor anywhere in New York, nor have we been to New York together (we need to do that) but we are in a place that we both call home, and I live right underneath her.
When I was going to college, advice given to me was to never live with your best friend, and after experiencing it for myself, I am giving that advice to everyone else who wants to live with any of their friends. I have lived with my best friend for quite some time now, and all I can say is, what an adventure of ups and downs it has been, and never in a million years will I trade it for the world.
Living with your best friend forces you to see what type of person they truly are. It isn't like any other sleepover; being my best friend's roommate forces us to work out problems and deal with what's going in each others' lives firsthand, and whatever issue it may be, it is worth it to take the time to repair any issue there is. College isn't easy, it brings so much stress into your household that it honestly causes issues. Now if you just don't care about your roommate/bff then ignore me, but I do and when she's stressing I am stressing for her because I care about her and want what's best, so when something happens with school it does test our friendship.
Other than arguments, little fights, stress or tests this challenge of living together has been for the both of us, we have gained so much more than just knowing how she likes her eggs in the morning or what time she even wakes up in the morning, but we got to see who we really are behind our phones. With my best friend and I, we got to bring down that distance barrier and the fence that used to separate us when we were little. We knew these little flaws that we had, such as her being messy and me being a little OCD, but we never understood how serious and real it was until we lived together. It isn't a bad thing to learn about it, because now I know, but (and she can agree) once a week sleepovers are good with me.
Being my best friend's roommate gave us the opportunity to not only learn more about each other, when we thought we already knew, but it also gave some badass memories that I can't wait to share with our kids one day. We had so many weird, unique, funny moments that we only understand, and we can only do with each other. We have had so many late night laughs and serious talks about our lives and what is going on with them. Being my best friend's roommate is challenging, rewarding, and it's honestly like having a sleepover everyday, but sleepovers have to end sometime.
This is to you, for all the times you have gotten on my nerves, when I have woken you up from naps, or when my laundry gets mixed up with yours. Here is a thank you/fav list for being my roommate.
1. Thank you for letting me over stay my welcome at your house.
2. For coming into my room and laying with me when I have anxiety.
3. For letting me eat your food.
4. Thank you for trusting me and opening your life more to me.
5.Thank you for all of our inside jokes.
6. Thank you for not waking me up from naps.
7. For taking care of me when I need you the most.
8. For keeping all of my secrets and letting me open up to you.
9. Thank you for accepting all the strange/weird things I do.
10. For going with me to the gym even though all you wanted to do was nap.
11. Thank you for being my date whenever I wanted to go out.
12. Thank you for having adult life conversations and being honest with me.
13. Thank you for leaving me alone, when I need to be alone.
14. Thank you for accepting my flaws and errors.
15. For forgiving me when I have done wrong.
16. For making me laugh with your dumb jokes.
17. Thank you for taking me wherever I needed to go.
18. Most importantly, thank you for being my roommate and better friend.
I know us being roommates isn't what we imagined, we had good and bad days, and great sleepovers in the den. We both have our flaws that do not combine well together, but it never made me love you any less, nor made me change my opinion of you. You will forever be my best friend, regardless. We survived another year together and we haven't killed each other (yet), I call that a best friend milestone. So what should we do next?
