It's that time of year again--college preparatory time. We have lots of incoming freshmen excited about the new adventures they're going to embark on, and lots of second-year and more college students reflecting on their past experiences. One common theme seems to be roommate stories. So many people seem to find a roommate who is a best friend, an inseparable companion, someone you couldn't live without. Either that or they find a roommate horror story, someone that makes the room choice a regret. It's really all you hear about. From the blogs and Odyssey articles, it honestly seems like your roommate will either be your best friend or your worst enemy.

For me and for so many others, that really wasn't the case.

My roommate was and is an incredibly awesome and talented person. She was super friendly and sweet and helped get me through that first awkward part of college where we, two out-of-staters, knew no one. I'm very grateful to her for all that help those first few weeks, for inviting my awkward ass out with her friends and not letting me feel alone. She's always been courteous and kind to me, respected my space, and communicated any issues she had with my living style so that it didn't become an issue.

But she's not my best friend. She's not my other half, my sister from another mister. I'm sure if she reads this, she'll agree. We have different interest groups, different ideas of fun. Though we were always nice to each other, we were never more than roommates. She wasn't my Heaven, but she wasn't my Hell. I don't have any crazy roommate stories or rants about how a random roommate match brought me my best friend. (That happened from a Japanese class study session.)

I just have an average experience, and that is not a bad thing.

So much of the time, we're convinced that our life has to be an interesting story. We think that if it wouldn't make an awesome article or something that people would care about, that there's something wrong. On top of that, we tend to expect life to be a story. I knew I went into college thinking in the back of my mind that I'd either make a friend or an enemy with my roommate. I was so focused on the extremes that the possibility of average didn't even cross my mind.

However, sometimes our lives are just that. Average. And it really isn't necessarily a bad thing. Embracing what we might see as average helps us appreciate what's small, helps us appreciate the day-to-day. There's something to love in every single "average" experience. For example, I honestly adore thinking of those little adventures I had with my roommate that helped me ease into being at college. I really appreciate being able to live with someone who was cordial to me, respected my boundaries, and gently asserted her own. Yeah, no one's going to read "My Roommate Wasn't Exciting But She Was Really Nice And I Was Content With Living With Her."

It's not some amazing story. But life doesn't have to be.

Some of the happiest times I've ever had aren't a story. Going for dinner with my friends? That's not a story, but I'll honestly treasure the moments of sharing a fried ice cream on the upper floor of a little Mexican place downtown and walking home past the river making jokes that made all of us roll our eyes. Spending a night in isn't a story, but I wouldn't give up the nights spent sandwiched between my two best friends in a cuddle puddle as we watched a random Netflix movie. Those seem like average things if looked at by an outsider, but they've really caused me the most happiness.

When you learn to stop looking for things that make a story and start looking for things that make you happy, anything can turn into an adventure in its own right. A trip to Target to pick up a couple basic cleaning supplies with a friend, my besties and I sharing ice cream in the dorm study lounge as we watched Youtube, even quiet moments of just studying alone; all of these things can be amazing.

So to any incoming freshmen: if your college experience isn't an awesome story at first, maybe it's for the better! The world might not consider it an adventure, but as long as you do, nothing else matters. Life isn't supposed to be an adventure. It's supposed to be your adventure.