When someone thinks of living alone in college, they think of no roommates stealing their food, the ability to walk around naked 24/7 and not having to please or accommodate anyone. This past semester, both of my roommates studied abroad and left me to fend for myself. The excitement of living alone lasted for only three short days of solitude.
While you might have an extreme amount of freedom, living alone in college is actually not what's up, and let me tell you why.
1. Living alone means you have no one to ride the roller coaster of emotions that you go on during a show you watch together on Netflix.
And of course you have to have onesies to ensure your comfort while binge watching.
2. You do not have anyone five steps away to talk to.
From significant (or insignificant) others, to a horrible exam coming up, you will realize how much your roommates were there for you. Without a doubt, this is what you will miss most.
3. Midnight food runs are slightly shameful when you are alone, but 100% acceptable with at least one other person.
When you have roommates you always have someone who is down for some Taco Bell.
4. Coming home to an empty house every day just gets depressing.
Three words: get a pet.
5. You have to do all the chores.
Gone are the days where your roomies would clean up a few of your dishes or throw some of your clothes in with their laundry – it is all you now, kiddo.
6. Your closet shrinks astronomically.
For each roommate you have, you gain another closet. Why would you ever want to lose something special like that? Not to mention their opinions on what you should wear. For example, before my roommates, I never was able to dress up as a taco.
7. You don't have someone to be ridiculous with.
Anyone with roommates knows that sometimes you just get bored and need to get it out of your system. Whether it is a dance party, headstand contest or driving around town jamming to your favorite music – they have you covered.
8. Going out becomes a hassle.
When you have roommates, you tend to go out together. When you live alone, pre-gaming at home makes you feel like an alcoholic, and meeting up with people that are already out is difficult. It takes a heck of a lot more planning and dedication to go out when you are on your own.
9. You have to make all of your own food.
It might not seem like it is that great of a day when your roommate accidentally makes too much pasta and offers you a plate, but if you live alone that will never happen. You have to cook your own food and can only offer your future self leftovers via a tupperware container in the fridge. Depressing.
10. There isn't someone there who knows your schedule and offers to pick you up from class when it is raining.
This, by far, is one of the things I missed most. Your roommates are like family and when you get a text in class as you see a flash of lightning asking if you need a ride, there are no words to express your gratitude.
11. You no longer live with your best friends.
Whether or not you started out as best friends when you chose to live together, roommates usually form a special bond. A person who will be there for you when you are having a horrible day with snacks and their Netflix password, or when you just got the internship you dreamed of with balloons and a bottle of wine. Even though you might get into petty arguments about the dishwasher or whose turn it is to take out the trash, your roommates will nine times out of 10 become your family.
So basically the moral of the story is, never let both of your roommates study abroad/move out/leave you because you will miss them every day.
