Dear Roommates,

I remember when I finished my housing application for my freshman year of college, I wondered what my roommate would be like. I had heard so many horror stories, and hundreds since then, about how terrible everyone's freshman year roommates were, so I was a little on-edge when I was randomly selected to live with a stranger in a 10x12 room for nine months. I was from a small rural town 150 miles away from my college. I wasn't going to have a car with me during my freshman year. I didn't know one single person going to the same college as I was. I wasn't guaranteed to make friends. All I knew was that it would sure be a long first year of college if my roommate and I didn't get along.

Miraculously, when we moved in, we got along really well right off the bat. I don't know how I would have handled living in such a tiny room together if we didn't, but then again, we also survived sharing a bathroom with 45 other girls--some of which we didn't end up liking.

I don't know how you've put up with me for this long, but here are some things I would like you to know. I appreciate you so much and feel so lucky to still be your roommate during my first two years of college. Thanks for taking funny pictures, watching animated movies, singing Disney songs, and getting chicken quesadillas and smoothies in the middle of the night with me. Thanks for holding my hand the entire time I got my first tattoo, for giving me advice and helping me pick up the pieces after my first long-term boyfriend broke my heart. I'm sorry about that time that I got up and left and wouldn't answer my phone because I was having a bad day. Thanks for always caring about me, but also knowing when I needed straightening up. Thanks for pointing it out that time I accidentally wore my sweatpants backwards all day, and when I wore sandals that didn't go with my outfit. Thank you so much for putting up with how forgetful I am. I'm sorry about when I left the tub of Aquaphor open on your desk and you stepped in it with your socks on while getting off out your bed, and all those times I fell asleep in the middle of the floor because I was too lazy to crawl up the deathtraps that were our lofted beds. I will always cherish the memories of laying in our beds and talking until one in the morning, sitting at our desks complaining about papers, and trying to think of ways we could hide a hamster in our dorm.

Most of all, though, thanks for being one of the best roommates I could ever have, and for deciding to get an apartment with me.

We expanded our roommate family this year when we leased our first apartment together. All of our friends already had plans for where they would be living during the following year of college, so we decided to take the plunge and get randomly matched with two roommates. We talked so many times, thinking since we had been so lucky with each other that we couldn't possibly get away with getting matched with awesome roommates two years in a row. Somehow, we got even luckier.

I know we haven't known each other very long, and we've only been living together for a month, but here are some things I'd like you two to know as well. Thanks for forcing us to recycle. I honestly wouldn't even think to do that since we don't have a recycling bin at our apartment complex. I never realized how many things you go to throw away are recyclable! Thanks for inspiring me to eat a little healthier. It's a little easier to put down the pizza and pick up a salad instead when I see all the vegetables in the fridge. My body is grateful. Thanks for not making fun of me for only knowing how to cook grilled cheese. Someday I will face my anxiety over cooking, learn how to make some delicious delicacies, and make an awesome dinner for all of us. I love how we can all just sit, hang out, and talk about anything when we're all together already. I can't wait to see what the rest of our year here holds in store for us. I've had so much fun living with all of you already, and I just know that the rest of the year will be even better!

Love,

Your favorite roommate