How I Chose my Roommates
I chose to live with my best friends because one of the most intimidating parts of making the transition to college can be deciding who you want to live with. Most adults will tell you that deciding which university you want to further your education at is, “the biggest decision of your life so far.” But, figuring out who you want to room with in college can be an even harder decision than choosing which school to go to. Three years ago, I remember feeling uneasy about the thought of meeting someone through a West Chester University Class of 2020 Facebook page. As time went on, and I continued my search for a random roommate, I found out that two of my best friends, Courtney and Taylor, had also been accepted to WCU. We instantly decided to all room together.
Comfort and Stability
When I decided to live with two of my best friends from high school, a lot of friends and family members told me it was a mistake. Even our high school teachers made jokes about how we were going to fight with each other constantly. People tend to fear that if you live with someone you are already close with, it could ruin or damage the friendship. I was told over and over that I would regret not finding new people to room with at college. Well, they were wrong. For me, the transition to college was hard and I was extremely anxious and nervous to be almost 3 hours away from home and from my family.
Living with my best friends helped calm my nerves and gave me the sense of familiarity that I desperately needed. The day my parents dropped me off at Commonwealth Hall, I felt a whirl of emotions come over me. I was scared, in a new place, and finally on my own. But I wasn’t. After shutting the door, there was Courtney, my best friend of 15 years. Without hesitation, I climbed into her bed and we began planning our first day of classes. Without my two best friends, the intimidating transition to college would not have been as smooth and comfortable.
From Friends to Family
I’m sure there are a lot of friends that you may consider a part of your family. You may have grown up with friends who would go with you to family parties, have constant sleepovers with and tell your deep dark secrets too. Living with your best friends adds an entirely new area to your friendship. It’s a constant sleepover with your BFF’s! My roommates are my constant and my go to. Whenever I’m upset my roommates know right away based on my actions. Courtney and Taylor, always find the perfect ways to cheer me up, even if that means giving me my space.
We food shop together, clean, cook dinner and eat together most nights. We also have our favorite TV shows (American Horror Story and This Is Us) that we cuddle up to watch together weekly. Whenever my roommates or I am sick, we’ll care for each other like family. We’ll pick up each other’s favorite comfort foods, buy Gatorade’s, pick up each other’s prescriptions, and if necessary take one another to urgent care, trust me, we’ve made plenty of trips, right Taylor?
We are there for each other no matter what, and have realized that our relationship will, time and time over again, survive those annoying, petty fights. Like typical roommates, I can find them walking around campus wearing one my sweatshirts or baseball hats, and vice versa. At this point, my roommates probably have more of my clothes than I do. Most importantly, and probably one of my favorite things about living with Courtney and Taylor is, that every night before bed, we never forget to say, “I love you, goodnight!”
Lifelong Memories and Friendships
One of the biggest blessings I have discovered from transitioning to college with my high school best friends, is the endless memories we have made and will continue making. From middle school dances on Friday nights in the gym dancing to Usher’s song “Yeah!”, to senior prom and graduation, we have been together through it all. Everyone says that college is the “time of your life” and that the friends and memories you make in college will last you a lifetime. We have got to experience sharing and living in a tiny, what felt like 10 X 10, dorm room together, with our beds only feet apart from one another. Then, we moved into our first apartment and figured out how to pay rent and bills and of course decorated together.
Over the past three years we’ve taken long car rides together and traveled to the University of Pittsburg, Penn State University, Temple and Bloomsburg to visit some of our best friends from high school.I feel so lucky that the memories between Courtney, Taylor and I did not just stop after high school, like so many friendships do once you graduate. We didn’t have to part our separate ways and say goodbye until Thanksgiving or Christmas once August of 2016 came around. Now, we worry at the thought of going home for break and not being together.
Figuring out who to room with can be difficult luckily there are sites to assist you.
Also here is some information about living on campus at West Chester University and WCU’s roommate policy. https://www.wcupa.edu/_services/stu.lif/roommateInfo.aspx
