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

The first thing that you need to know about living with your bestie is that everyone’s going to tell you: “Don’t do it”. Every time you tell someone you’re going to live together, they’ll make a face and say a variation of any of the following:

  • “Ay! Are you sure?”
  • “Living with your best friend can be difficult.”
  • “You know that being friends with someone and living with them is not the same, right?”
  • “Nena, don’t you get tired of being together all the time?”

What else you should know? The people that have given you their objections have probably never even lived with their best friend. My best friend and I planned to live together from the moment we sent the application to la IUPI. Everyone told us that it was going to be a disaster. Now, going on our third year of living together, we know that it was the best decision we ever took.

One of the reasons Angélica (my best friend duh!) and I chose to move together was the familiarity. We were already stressed about going to university so why also add the stress of living with a stranger? Living with your best friend is like living with family. You feel comfortable always. You want to spend all day in your pj (or undies) around the house? Your bestie won’t care, they probably will be doing the same anyway. You are late for a class but they are in the shower and you need to wash your teeth? Well the door is open, go ahead! You can do stuff that you can’t with a stranger (at least not right away). Also if you have any quirks like singing loudly (and highly out of tune) in the shower they are not going to judge you (too much), because they already know how bad you sing. 

Another thing is that your bestie always has your back. Going between two houses can be difficult and you are always bound to forget something. First week of this semester I forgot my towel and she forgot her pillow. Neither of us had the necessity of running out to buy one, because we had each other; I gave her a pillow and she lend me a towel. At the end of the day if you need something, you can always ask and they will help you as much as they can. This doesn’t only apply to material stuff. Everyone knows that every semester is a whole new emotional rollercoaster. Between the stress and wanting to run away from your workload, you will need a shoulder to lean on. Thanks to the random trips for ice cream, seeing at least one episode of a reality show or singing like crazy people to de-stress, together we have survived each semester. 

And yes, not everything is perfect. Not everyone is in a good mood all the time and stuff like leaving a door open can make someone snap. But the same happens with family and strangers. This doesn’t have anything to do with your best friend but with being human. The key to have a good living situation is to have communication. If something is bothering you or you need a little bit of space, talk to your friend, they will listen to you. Yes, maybe you will fight a little, but it will mean nothing compared to every moment of laughter that you will have. Think about it this way: living together means 24/7 bonding time. Between exams and projects you can paint your nails together, gossip, see a movie or whatever you want to do without having to spend hours planning to see each other. You can also think about the housework as bonding. Dancing with brooms and jamming together? Yes please! 

In the end, don’t let anyone discourage you, you know yourself and you know your best friend. If you think that your living situation is going to work, go ahead and do it! I wish you and your bestie a fun time together (I know I am having it)!

 

Alana is currently in her fifth year, studying Comparative Literature in the UPR Río Piedras Campus. She loves books, superheroes and mythology. Will sing any song that she knows (even if she can't sing to save her life) and is always tired. She dreams with someday writing a book.