Everyone goes through the stress and absolute anxiety of picking a freshman year roommate. There's so many obstacles, so many things that could go wrong. You could change schools last minute and have to start over. Your seemingly-perfect dream roommate could decide to switch schools last minute. You could be waiting forever on you acceptance letter or scholarship money, and sit each day knowing all the perfect roommates are already running in slow motion through flower meadows to meet each other and have the perfect first year.
I mean, people spend years of their lives on dating sites and online places to meet somebody, and you're expected to meet a girl to live with and spend every waking moment within just two or three months on Facebook? What kind of joke is this? And it's especially harder for girls. Guys just get somebody that doesn't look like they'll be watching YouTube cat videos on the TV at 4 a.m., and if they are, well they'll just hangout with the cool kid down the hall. Girls, it's like standing in a crowd of strangers and picking someone to go into battle with.
But honestly, we were sort of bred for this moment most of our lives. In middle school and high school most of us unfortunately learned how to judge other girls by the way they carry themselves. We really can't help it, honestly. Thus, when it comes to picking a roommate, we pull out all the cards on easy and quick judgments.
This girl will see us at our worst, most vulnerable, unfamiliar state. And we have to assume who they are through pictures and tweets and other irrelevant matters. But, it also isn't the end of your life if you don't find the Monica to your Rachel during your freshman year of college. Why? Because like the cliché saying you just learned was true all through high school, it goes by before you even know it. But, college goes by even faster. And you meet so many more people, so many different ways than just having that torturing chemistry class everyday at 11 a.m. freshman year of high school that you and the girl next to you mutually hated.
I'm speaking from someone with experience here, people. My roommate and I seemed like future best friends off the bat, color coordinating, matching things for the room, and her bringing the fridge andthe microwave. (This was a big deal since her move in was an eight-hour drive from Texas and mine was a four hour connecting flight from Massachusetts to Mississippi.) But even being the only person I knew from my state going, I still was pumped that I somehow found a good roommate that I had never met before.
This went down hill very soon.Move-in day came, and I ended up waiting an entire week before I got the majority of my clothes shipped to me. She came with her dad and a huge truck with the entire bed filled with plastic wrapped and steamed clothes and jewelry racks. I'mtalking Kim K moving back into Kris' house with Kanye again, people. So off the bat I knew she would have everything and anything to borrow (flag number one that I soon realized was how keen she was on sharing things before even meeting). But somehow she still managed to borrow absolutely everything of mine, sneakily and not. How? I don't know. But it got worse, and easily aggravated me. But living with this girl and not having other good friends yet, I ignored it. Then she began going out every night, coming in at random times, and always having her boyfriend in the dorm, or staying at his house. Long story short, the two best friends I eventually made and I hated her. Even longer story short:
We may or may not have actually ended up in a physical altercation of sorts after winter break.Like, I experienced the ultimate nightmare of roommate living freshman year of college, and truthfully, it didn't even really affect my college year negatively. I mean there were repercussions and meetings and such, and the fear of having to move out of the dorm with my two best friends, but everything ended up fine.
Trust me, I'm not saying if you're not besties with your roommate you'll fight, or that if you don't meet them before move in she'll be crazy and steal all your stuff. I mean, this girl is just as nervous as you finding some random roommate she's never met before. And even girls who know each other or grew up together and decide to room at the same school can fight and change rooms and everything. I promise it won't make or break your college experience. You can rush, go out, even meet a girl in the library or Starbucks and instantly be best friends. Your first roommate is not your only hope at college friendships.
So start stressing over what dorm you'll be spending the year in and a little less on what girl will be spending it in there with you in the other bed.