What’s everyone’s biggest fear when coming to college? Even though the challenging courses and the concern that you won’t make a single friend in a class of 2500+ students can make you feel uneasy, the fear of hating your freshman year roommate is the most immense of them all. Imagine having to come home to someone you can’t stand? Having to share your most comfortable space with someone that makes you uncomfortable?
This is why you should thank your freshman year roommate for not only being someone you didn’t hate living with, but for being a person you LOVED living with. Here are some things I’d like to thank my freshman year roommate for:
-
Late night talks – Whether it was staying up all night to laugh about our failures or having a deep conversation that just went on way longer than we anticipated, it was always expected to be up all night talking about any and everything.
-
Being on the same level of crazy as me – I could always count on you to have a dance party with me, even though we both knew I really couldn’t dance. Let’s not forget how we shared the same sense of humor; waking up to 10+ tags on memes on Instagram and Facebook is something I still look forward to.
-
For not hating me for all my flaws as a roommate – Yes, my alarm would go off for 30+ minutes in the morning. Yes, I came home late at night and would wake you with my noisy movement and lights. Yes, you got the worst of me in my bad moods. And yes, I forced you to procrastinate your homework by binge watching movies and playing pool with me. Yet, despite all these horrible roommate qualities, you still managed to give me unconditional love and really never got mad at me.
-
Eating just as much as me – I’ve always appreciated never having to eat a meal alone. Even if you had just eaten dinner, I knew I could count on you to still tag along and eat more with me. And of course I could never forget our late night runs to Simon’s to get a Simontella just because one dinner was never enough.
-
Making our dorm room our home away from home – From decorating our room with snowflakes for the holidays to always comforting me when I felt homesick, you constantly managed to make our dorm feel comfortable, just like home.
-
Always forcing me to get out of the room, even when I didn’t want to – You always dragged me out on my lazy Saturdays and Sundays to start my day, otherwise, I probably would’ve just slept all day. And dragging me to run with you seemed horrible at the time, but was definitely needed. Let’s be real, you kept me healthy.
-
Being my mom since my mom wasn’t there – You were the person that would ALWAYS take care of me when I wasn’t feeling well and you never let me leave the room looking like a train wreck. Coming into college I wasn’t sure if I could survive without my mom, but thanks to you I never really had to.
-
Allowing me to have a second closet – You consistently offered up your closet when my everyday sweatshirt and leggings look just wasn’t appropriate. By October, I was getting sick of my wardrobe and your closet was exactly what I needed (thanks for being fashionable).
-
Constantly listening to me rant and never telling another soul – Coming home to rant to you about my professor became a daily ritual, at the same time everyday you would just know exactly what I needed to talk about. And obviously you were always there to listen to my complaints about all the other people in our lives.
-
Continuing to be my friend, even though we don’t live together anymore – My favorite part of the week is grabbing food with you and catching you up on the latest edition of our lives. Living apart may not be the worst thing since we manage to spend hours and hours just updating each other on our lives, but I definitely miss coming home to you everyday. I am forever grateful for this friendship freshman year has given me:)
With Thanksgiving just behind us and the winter break coming soon, don’t forget to thank your freshman year roommate for all the good she has brought into your life. College was a hard transition for all of us, and whether you realize it or not, your roommate made this change much more bearable for you, and you probably did the same for her.