My College Roommate Is My Best Friend

Every day is a new adventure and a new reason to laugh.

When most of us go off to college, we have this idea that we are going to get a roommate, and our roommate is going to be our best friend. We will stay up late talking about guys, share clothes, and talk about everything and anything. I hate to be the one to burst your bubble, but that doesn't always happen right off the bat. It takes some time to really find that one person that you can have that connection with. 

I met my current roommate, Nicole, at orientation before either of us started college. We both decided to major in Public Relations, and we ended up being the only two Public Relations majors at that orientation. Believe it or not, but we didn't like each other when we first met. As we sat and talked to the chair of the department, we both felt a need to prove ourselves, and it started with these words coming out of my mouth. 

"I have 19 college credits that I earned in High school, so i'll be starting as a Freshman 2." 

Then Niki replied with " I have a 120 percent in Psychology." 

This started what I remember to be a small back and forth conversation about our intelligence and what we wanted to accomplish in college. The chair of the department probably thought we were absolutely crazy, but when we finally ran out of things to "one up" each other with, he simply said that it seemed as if the department was gaining two very intelligent women.  

On the very first day of classes, we unknowingly sat right next to each other in the two front center seats. Our professor wanted us to talk to the people around us, and from that point on, Niki was the first college friend that I had made. 

Our first year at college had a lot of ups and downs. We both ended up having two different roommates throughout the year, and Biology turned into a complete disaster. Between being overly stressed out with classes that had nothing to do with our major and emotionally exhausted from putting up with other people's crap all year long, we found common ground. We were both ambitious people who went through similar things. We shared long rant sessions when we were supposed to be studying. We stayed up late talking, even though we had a test at 8 A.M. the next morning, and together, we kicked a*s during finals week if I do say so myself. 

We became extremely close, so we decided to room together this year. First of all, I think it is extremely important to point out that although we are very similar, we are also very different. For example, I am OCD about the placement of items in the room. Everyone knows who side is who's because mine is very neat and her's looks like a nuclear bomb went off. I've got to hand it to her though because she still somehow finds what she needs in her mess. We like to call this an "organized mess." 

We like to believe that we have reached roommate goals, that we ARE roommate goals. Every day is a new adventure and new reason to laugh. We text each other at night even though we are no more than four feet away from each other. We share everything, and the one day, she passed my bracelets off to me as I was going to class and she was coming back from class because we both wanted to wear them on the same day. We live by motto "sharing is caring," which has really come in handy when she needs to use my hair spray or i'm hungry for something sweet. Our clothes end up in each other's hampers, and we have food fights that sometimes results with me sleeping with carrots in my bed. We also have very intense and personal conversations that usually start out with one of us saying "so I was in the bathroom earlier today AND..., " you really don't need to know the rest.

Niki and I are the proud parents of a frog that has made us question whether or not we can actually be real parents someday. Niki also likes to call me mom, and I feel like I have unintentionally turned into one at the young age of 19. I usually hear something along the lines of this every twenty minutes or so: "mom, what are you doing?" "hurry up mom," "mom will you paint my toe nails," " mmmmmmom, will you untangle my shirt," "thanks mom!"

We have also started to developed each other's traits and habits. Niki inspires me to put effort into my appearance every day because I don't want to be an ugly roommate. Sadly, she adopted one of my less attractive traits of accidentally drooling, and I think she does it more than I do now.  

If that didn't convince you that we are roommate goals, then this definitely will. When we get hamburgers at dinner, she puts cheese on mine while I put pickles on hers. We get the same sandwich at Primanti Bro's, turkey with no tomatoes, and she calls me while standing outside of our window to tell my that there's a good parking spot outside. 

Her alarm wakes me up instead of her, and I find her make up everywhere. She hurts herself more than I hurt myself, something that I did not think was possible, and she is a Brown's fan that is forced to look at my Steeler's terrible towel on a daily basis. She has to listen to my stories six or seven times because I forget that I told them to her, and we probably say that we hate each other in the most loving way at least three times a day. 

Sometimes I wonder how I went so long without knowing her, and other times I think about how boring my life would be if she wasn't here with me. She was my first friend at college, my roommate, and my best friend. It took sometime, but I found a person that I could be myself with and only be slightly embarrassed about it. When one comes, the other usually follows. We annoy, hate, and love each other, and I wouldn't want to have it any other way. My college roommate is my best friend, and we have officially reached roommate goals. 

Reviews

[WoodenChair]

Me and my roommates used to stand at our kitchen window on the 6th floor completely drunk reciting sexual poetry at the top of our lungs for hours on end in the early hours of the morning (most nights of the week) we lived together in a block of 600 students based in the middle of the city, they were the best and worst of times, good memories you story incites!

[barleygirl]

I love that you have used tons of specific anecdotal evidence to back up your claims. Your examples are easy to visualize & enjoy, even if the actual scenario doesn't sound like my idea of fun. Your enthusiasm is convincing, even when you're describing the annoying aspects of each other's quirks. Sometimes a person says he/she loves a friend, but in between the lines, there is a ton of critical evidence that one doesn't really accept the other. In this case, I can feel the acceptance everywhere & you describe the things you two share with genuine love . . . something that seems so rare these days. To a certain extent, this piece demonstrates your loving & accepting nature as much as it highlights this friendship (((HUGS)))

[Jacob Clifford]

"Roommate goals" indeed. It's true that it's not always so easy to find good friends, but that just makes them ever better. And when two people are close enough, then can develop bonds like what you described. This story was entertaining and insightful, and I'm sure you and Niki will have many more wacky experiences.