Moving into college in August was terrifying. I knew no one on campus and was anxious to make friends, start classes, settle into the crew team. Most of all, I was petrified of my roommate, Ananya (Nani). I knew she had a couple of friends from home at Colby and one of them lived in our dorm. Irrationally, I could only imagine her hanging out with her old friends and me sitting alone in our room.
It never occurred to me that I could become friends with her friend too. We live in a 197 square foot double with one window overlooking the Mary Low parking lot. The window has wooden blocks on it so we cannot climb out onto the Foss terrace. Despite the dim and ugly lighting we love our home. It took some time to get used to our new living space, but little by little we started decorating it and hanging out together. Nani and I put up photos and posters, hung up our mirror, found a fuzzy rug, and got a fridge and stocked it with snacks.
I knew we would be friends in early September. I was ready to go to sleep when I decided I was too hungry to go to bed. I admitted to her that I was never going to fall asleep without eating when she suggested chicken fingers. So, the two of us ventured out to the spa for a snack at 1:00 A.M. Since then, the rest is history.
It can be scary moving in with a stranger but with time and an open mind, you can become best friends. Not everyone becomes close with their roommate, most people don’t, and that’s okay. I was just lucky enough to get the best roommate out there.