Me and my current roommate Darlene having fun (after doing our homework!)
One of my greatest fears when deciding to come to college was living with a roommate. My fear did not revolve around having to share a room, since I’ve shared a room with my siblings my entire life; I was more concerned with whether or not I would get along with my roommate. (In case you are wondering, my college has a limited amount of single rooms, which are usually occupied by seniors.) I’ve had two roommates in the past two years and, luckily, everything has turned out just fine.
Since I had no friends from home attending Holy Cross with me, I had to complete a Roommate Questionnaire before freshman year that asked me about my living preferences. Based on my answers, I was randomly assigned with a roommate in a freshmen dorm hall (Wheeler!). We quickly added each other on Facebook and started sending messages back and forth in an attempt to get to know one another before schools started. We lived together throughout the entire year and I got along with her very well. Although we are no longer roommates, we still remain friends. 🙂
This year, I live in Clark (Sophomore dorm) with my friend, Darlene. She lived three doors down from me in Wheeler last year and since we had a class together we instantly bonded. We spent a lot of time together and I have to admit that I would not have had such an amazing freshmen year if it weren’t for her friendship. Whether it was doing homework in the library, sledding on top of plastic bin containers (when we should have been studying for finals!), going around taking silly pictures, or randomly walking around campus with footed pajamas and masks on, we always had an amazing time. It was obvious that we should dorm together our sophomore year.
Our only fear about rooming together was whether it would negatively affect our friendship. Rooming with a best friend is hit or miss. It can either go very well or it can be a complete disaster. The last thing I wanted was for our friendship to be strained because we were not good roommates. Luckily, rooming together did not ruin our friendship and we are still good friends. 🙂
Many students who will be freshmen in the fall have the same fear I did when I was a freshman. I can assure you that everything will turn out fine. If there is any problem that cannot be resolved by talking it out, you can always seek out your Resident Assistant or Resident Director for advice or (in dire circumstances) request a roommate change. So don’t sweat it!
Until next month,
Kristie