Growing up as an only child, I had always had an entire room and bathroom to myself. Actually, I had the entire second floor of my home to myself. My senior year of high school, I was excited to go away to college but something still made me nervous: the dorms. I had, like every other prospective student, taken multiple tours of Baylor’s campus, which included the dorms. I was absolutely terrified of community baths, but luckily received admission to the Honors College and with it, the opportunity to live in the Honors Residential College. These dorms were suite style with two rooms adjoined by a bathroom to be shared by four girls. Although nominally better than the dreaded community-style living, I was still nervous about sharing a room.
Although I knew a few people from my graduating class that were also on the Baylor track, my parents highly encouraged me to use this opportunity to branch out from my comfort zone and choose to live with someone totally new. Honestly, this has been one of the best choices I’ve made my entire college career.
During the summer between high school and college, I joined every Facebook Baylor-oriented group I could find. It was through one of these groups that I met a group of three ladies. Since we didn’t know each other well enough to have a preference, we all put down a different name from our group for our roommate preferences.
On move-in day, amidst the chaos and stress of moving my entire life over 300 miles away and setting up, I met the girl I would be spending the next year of my life living with.
At first, we got along as platonically as one would expect, always politely asking if it was alright that one of us used the shower. Our conversations centered on school and room rules; awkward small talk for the first month. Over time, these talks grew to include past and present personal topics and subjects that ranged from which celebrity man we were planning on marrying at the moment to conversations about daily drama.
It wasn’t long into the school year that my potluck roommate became one of my best friends. We did almost everything together and were so close that it was never creepy when she scooted into my bed to watch my latest Netflix addiction.
After our freshman year was over, we signed up to finish our last year in the Honors Residential College together and had even signed a lease together on our first apartment. We had changed from people that would ask for permission to cross into each other's side of the room to a single entity with no boundaries whatsoever.
My potluck roommate experience has led me to one of the most genuine and wonderful people I have ever had the pleasure to know, and even if you don’t find your best friend or soulmate at random, the experience of living with someone who is completely foreign and unknown to you is unlike any other. So step out of your comfort zone and pick potluck.
