Everyone’s freshman year roommate experience is going to be different and that’s the beauty of having your own unique college journey! What I can tell you is that on that journey, you’ll learn a lot about yourself through the process of having a first year roommate, some good things and some bad things. I met my roommate at a NazBound event pre-COVID and we both requested that we live together that fall semester. When I met her and considered asking her to be my roommate, I took into consideration a lot of the advice that’s been written and given about the process. For example, they say to “make sure you’re not in the same major cause you already might be spending a lot of time together,” check! They also say to “make sure you have some similar interests,” check! Of course there were more things I was analyzing as we got to know each other but when it came to the basics she checked all the boxes for a great first year roommate. Now reflecting back on the experience, while all of those tips were helpful, they aren’t a shoe in for meshing perfectly with your roommate and I also learned that my definition of a great roommate changed. 

First and foremost, just as much as someone can lie on their random roommate questionnaire about time spent in the room, cleanliness or other things, they can do the same in person. So it is very important to be honest! If you’re messy, there is going to be someone out there that is messy too and wants to room with you or someone that isn’t messy but doesn’t mind helping a messy person out. It’s crucial that you are upfront and honest about things instead of being dishonest and dealing with the consequences later. Additionally, just because you had fun together and a good connection when you met in person doesn’t mean it’s always gonna be like that. At times, my roommate and I enjoyed each other’s company so much that we had similar friends, did the same hobbies and spent a lot of our free time together, and ultimately it became too much. I would recommend a better balance than I had, make a plan that maybe if you have different majors, you could have similar interests but try to have different friend groups and make your own hobbies without one another. Take note that these are just suggestions based off of my experience and these suggestions came from my own trial and error! You won’t learn these things on your own until you try! Lastly, one of the most important pieces of advice I can give you is that your freshman year roommate story is important because it is your first real college roommate experience, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s just one year and just one stop on your journey. It doesn’t define your journey entirely and it definitely does not have to set the tone for the rest of your time in college, whether it was a good experience or a bad experience. 

All in all, no matter what way you end up meeting your roommate, the experience will be one that you learn from and everyone should take value in that. Take every happy, crazy, sad, fun, bad, boring or amazing moment with them and let it take you further in your journey to learning more about yourself as a person. The times you will spend with your freshman year roommate will become stories that you tell to get a laugh or to share a deeper meaning. There will always be something unique and special about what you learn from that experience.