Everyone has friends. But from time to time, people are tempted to live with these friends in order to cut down on the cost of living. But I'm here to tell you that living with your friends is the worst decision you could ever make. Take it from me: you don't want to deal with all of the stuff that comes with it.
1. Prepping is the worst.
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My best friend and I decided to room together when we went off to college. What followed was three months of buying furniture, picking out fun smelling soaps, wondering what college would be like and overall female bonding. You have to think: do you really want to fully commit to the idea of having a 24/7 sleepover? Thought so.
2. You spend too much time together.
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Once my friend and I moved into our dorm, we made the mistake of befriending the other two girls in our dorm. Now the four of us will spend hours talking and laughing about literally anything until the wee hours of the morning. I've heard from other friend-livers that this happens a lot. People who live with their friends often shop together, make food together, are always there to talk about problems, and always down for an immediate adventure, even if it's just an emergency car ride because they're late to class and you'll be laughing and talking the whole time. Why have all of that when you could room with someone who smells like cheese and has no regard for personal space? It builds character.
3. You're stuck with them forever.
This one is when I realized that I was in trouble and could save others. If you live with your friends, you're gonna see each other in their truest form: good, bad, happy, sad, no sleep, dirty hair, dirty clothes, heartbreak, and maybe even a little inebriated. If you survive these years together, literally nothing will ever tear you apart. One of my roommates is going to join the Peace Corps after college, and if you think I'm not going to hike it across the globe to visit her at least once, then you clearly have never lived with your best friends. Do you know how often we discuss what we're going to do in each other's weddings? The four of us are bonded forever and nothing will ever change that until we die. Thanks, college.
4. You make even more friends. Gross.
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Obviously you have you and your friends, but you're all still strong, independent people with their own lives. So they're going to make friends outside of your room. These new friends are either going to get along great with your #coresquad or perish in the flames. If they don't, life continues, but if everyone likes them? Friends forever! What am I supposed to aggressively blog about if I'm happily surrounded by great people?!
5. You'll develop weird traditions.
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Pizza every Friday or maybe even Taco Tuesday. You'll always know each other's order and won't mind spotting if they're too busy to go out or low on cash, because you have a life-long debt toward each other. Surprise soup when you have class or aren't feeling well? Sounds like work. You don't want that.
6. Inside jokes.
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The worst. How are you supposed to talk to other people outside of your apartment when they don't understand that one weird sound that happened that one time during that one show that said that one thing after that one phone call that references another inside joke about that one professor? You're essentially exiling yourself from society.
7. You're a family.
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The first people you see in the morning and the people you say goodnight to before you go to sleep, living with your friends makes you a family that isn't exactly blood but might as well be.
I hope I have opened your mind and made you deeply reconsider what exactly will lose when you live with your friends. Going to college or going out into the real world is a time of struggling, fear and uncertainty. Having your best friends around while you help each other through your early 20s sounds like an awful time. Be miserable like everyone else. You'll thank me later.
#716forever
Sheetal Tadiparty
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