Not too many years ago, being assigned your college roommate was similar to going on a blind date that would last for an entire academic year. Today, college students are faced with the choice of selecting a roommate they knew before college, whether it be a real-life friend or someone they met in the Class of 20__ Facebook Group, or going totally random and having a computer select their roommate for them.

After I got into Rowan University, I did what every high school senior did once they made their college decision. I tweeted about it, added “Rowan ‘19” to the biography section of every social network I had, and even posted a picture on instagram of my acceptance letter. I was beyond excited to see the places and people that my commitment to this school would lead me to.

It wasn’t long until I found myself faced with the decision of not only where I was going to live, but with who. I contemplated whether or not I wanted a random roommate, or if I wanted to meet her first. It wasn’t long until I met my first roommate on an app called Quad. Originally, I planned on living in a double room with only one roommate. It was not long, however, until I got an email from the university saying that my roommate and I would most likely be forced into a triple along with 80% of other freshmen -- you would think I would have been bummed about sharing my already tiny dorm with another person, but I was actually excited about it. Another roommate meant another friend.

My roommate and I decided to select a room and wait for a random person to also select our room. After a few days, it happened - someone else assigned herself to be our third roommate… and it was honestly one of the best things that has ever happened to me.

Having a random roommate has done a lot of positive things for me. Although I had no idea what I was getting myself into by taking the risk of living with a random person I had never met before, I was forced to open my mind to an entirely new experience. Living with a random roommate has taught me how to be respectful of someone else’s space and boundaries, and there was also nothing to lose by going random because if I did not get along with my roommate, there was no friendship at stake to be ruined.

Also, most roommates tend to stick together everywhere they go their freshman year, but having a random roommate I didn’t really know in the beginning of the year forced me to do things independently and make friends other than just the people I was living with.

Although there is no pressure to become best friends with your random roommate (like I just so happened to eventually come to be with mine), going random forces you to have to at least respect and be friendly with that person, which is a skill you will need in life no matter what career field you end up in after college.

All in all, I feel as though everyone in college should have a random roommate at least once throughout their university experience. You never know, you might make a really good friend out of it, and you might also learn a lot about yourself from living with a random person.