This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Wisconsin chapter.

This year has quite an academic year or really just the year so far in general. I know that reflections on all the bad and ugly have been drawn out and the last thing I want to do is contribute to the weariness of 2020-2021. But as my last Her Campus article of the cycle, there is just one thing that I needed to share. A sincere thank you and true appreciation. Together the four of us have lived all cooped up in our small apartment constantly together for better or for worse.

group of people studying and reading at a kitchen table — Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Before the pandemic was even a thought on anyone’s brain, I had signed my first lease ever with three other girls I had just met a mere two months prior. We signed for an apartment that had only two bedrooms and one bathroom, trying to live the best broke girl life possible! We didn’t think the small space would be an issue, “we are busy people with classes, work, and research. We will hardly be in the apartment anyways,” but little did we know. Of course we all came back to Madison for the online school year in hopes of having some semblance of a normal college life during a pandemic.

Overhead view of Students In Class — Photo by Mikael Kristenson from Unsplash

There is a lot that you can learn about people when you live with them, which seems like 24/7. Especially since we were already friends, these were the people I wanted to see. We made this difficult year better by trying to be creative with our time and energy: we had family meals together, spent time watching new movies and TV shows and had game nights, among other things. We all cared about the pandemic and wanted to be part of the solution, but it can be so hard when you see others living what seems like a “normal life” online and while your life feels so monotonous.

Colleagues sitting at a table — Photo by Brooke Cagle from Unsplash

We did not let this drag us down and all things considering we kept ourselves fairly entertained. But what I am most thankful for about the roomies is the fact that we are still friends, and we can live and learn together while not growing (too) sick of each other :) They have kept me sane and motivated, they brought joy on bad days, and always were there to keep life spicy.

three women holding each other and smiling and laughing — Photo by Priscilla Du Preez from Unsplash

This has been a hard year and as the world is ever so slowly moving in the direction of “normalcy,” I really have to owe this year to the roomies. Liv, Gracie and Hails, I love you!

An Ode to the Roomies

We wanna slide into your DMs