It’s a college student’s worst nightmare: Being stuck living with someone that you absolutely can’t stand. You’ve heard the horror stories, you’ve seen it depicted on TV, and maybe you have even experienced it for yourself. It’s something that can have a huge negative effect on your college experience. However, we rarely talk about the opposite situation. I mean the situation in which you find yourself living with people that you completely love to pieces. For those of you that haven’t experienced it yet, I promise you that having amazing roommates to come home to is one of the best feelings in the world. Shelby and Taylor, this one is for you. Here are five things that happen when you love your roommates:

1. Staying in sounds more appealing than going out.

Should we stay in and watch Empire or go out and socialize? Empire, definitely. Having amazing roommates’ means you can have fun without ever leaving your apartment. You don’t need to spend money on an experience or go somewhere new to have a good time. Instead, you can stay in, be comfortable, and laugh the night away with your favorite people. While going out and having a night on the town can be a fun time, ordering pizza with my roommates and binging on Netflix will always be my first choice.

2. You never feel judged.

When you have roommates’ that you love and that love you in return, you feel safe to be yourself. All of your little quirks and habits that you are self-conscious about are no longer an issue. You can be weird, loud, and crazy and your roommates will still love you. You can tell them about the awkward encounter you had with a boy who you now have to avoid for the rest of your life, or you can tell them about the mistake you made that you wish with all your heart you could take back. No matter what, your roommates will accept you for the awkward little potato that you are and will love you despite your faults.

3. Having a boyfriend is no longer necessary.

Why would you need a boyfriend when you have roommates who leave you cute notes, feed you food, and tell you you’re pretty? Trick question, you don’t. While having a boyfriend could be nice someday, having roommates that you love honestly makes you forget that you are single. They love you when you are dressed to the nines looking like Beyoncé and they love you when you forget to put a bra on and are eating peanut butter out of the jar. Either way you feel loved and supported without having to undergo the emotional stress of being in a relationship.

4. You have built-in therapists/cheerleaders/moms.

When I got my interview to nursing school the people that were most excited, besides my actual parents, were my roommates. They both teared up with pride and proceeded to post on Facebook about it. When you have roommates that truly care about you, you also have people that believe in you and will cheer you on no matter what. It is one of the best feelings in the world when you live with people that care about your successes. On the flip side, living with roommates that you love also means you have people to help you dust yourself off from your failures and encourage you to try again.

5. You laugh more than before.

I truly believe that the best relationships are the ones in which you laugh just as much as you talk. This is true for romantic relationships as well as friendships. That is why when you love your roommates you find yourself laughing more than before. When you find people that you that you can be yourself around, you discover that even during the hard times you can find the joy in life. Thank you to my roommates for showing me how great it can be to love the people you live with. Thank you for the laughs, the support, and the insides jokes (Girl, bye). Love you both so much.