Finding the Perfect Roommate
by: Kayleigh Mincer
My favorite part of getting admitted to the school of my dreams was figuring out who my new roommate(s) would be. You are so excited to finally get into college and the second you have a time to breathe, you realize that you are going to need to find someone to share a whole year of your life with. All I could think about during this process was who could possibly share the same interests of binge-watching Gossip Girl or eating chicken wings until I can't move.
However, during this peaceful thought process, you try your best to block out all the horror roommate stories you have heard. The girl who listens to deaf-tones and hangs posters of screamo bands, the crazy cat lady–you immediately start to panic. You are on a time crunch and by the time you find the ''perfect'' roommate, she has already found someone. You grab your laptop and sign onto the class Facebook page and are overwhelmed by the short bios of thousands of your peers. Who would have guessed that if you like to study with or without music or what time you go to bed at night was such a deal breaker?!
You sit down, trying to decide if you should lie about your 10 p.m. bedtime, that you don't always put your toothbrush back in the toothbrush holder, or the fact that you sleep with a night light, and realize that your roommate might find out you lied and then hate you forever, ruining your entire freshman year!
You scroll past a few dozen bios and see that, yes, there are multiple websites specifically made for your school to find a roommate. You click on the link and immediately begin filling out what is important to you and your habits. You click submit and head to bed. The next morning you wake up and see you have six Facebook messages from girls! You are jumping with joy -- potential roomies! You click on each one and immediately start stalking their profiles -- "Ooh, she's cute! Oh, my gosh, she has such cute clothes and she's my size."
You soon find yourself checking out their high school homecoming photos and realize you still haven't responded to her message! You scramble to the first message and reply along the lines that you are interested, but want to get to know her first and potentially meet up somewhere next time you're both visiting the college. You message back and fourth a few times and you start to worry -- what if she thinks I am a loser with no life? You play it cool and tell her that you have to head out. She gives you her number so you can text her, and you practically do a backflip that you got her digits. You sign off your Facebook and stare at her number in your phone. When should I text her? What should I say? Should I be sarcastic or proper? You decide to wait exactly three hours and forty minutes before you text her.
"Hi! It's (insert your name here)." is all you can think of...
You haven't spent this long on a text message since your freshman year crush. You press send and wait until she reads or responds. When she does, you immediately start asking her non-creepy questions about her hobbies, her major, if she's rushing, and what she's involved in at school. You do this again with every other girl that messaged you on Facebook until you find one you click with. The second you sign the roommate agreement you begin showing all your family and friends class photos of her as if she was your own child.
The first time you meet her, you make more of an effort to look semi-approachable than you did on your first date.
When move-in day comes, meeting your roomie again is a big deal and by no means do you want to look like a sweaty slob. The moment comes, and you both talk about the next four years while your family unloads your belongings. When Mom starts crying, and the hour long goodbye ends, you are left alone with your new roommate. You feel thankful to have someone to talk to and relate to. You both take a quick power nap and head to orientation together as you begin the first of your college adventures.