College Roommate Nerves

Being a college freshman, going back to school is more than simply "going back to school." Not only are you moving on to a much larger University, but you might even be moving out on your own; whether that be ten minutes away, to a new city, new state or another side of the country. Hell, even to another continent!

As a college "freshman to be," there's nothing I am more excited for than moving out on my own! I've always imagined living in a tiny room, perfectly decorated by me and my best friend, who happened to be my roommate. We would take on college together. However, as time went on and this dream did not become my reality; I realized that my best friend of eighteen years wouldn't be there to experience college with me - she would be at my rival school.

I was to be paired up with a random roommate after filling out a short survey with questions like: "Do you smoke?" "Would you like a roommate who smokes?" "What time do you go to sleep?" and "What time do you wake up?" I expected to be matched up with someone based on our interests or intended major at the very least! What if we have absolutely nothing in common? What if she hates me? You could say I was a bit nervous about who my possible roommate could be and I won't say I didn't freak out a bit after hearing the horror story of my Mom's college roommate experience (she moved back home after her first quarter at school).

With the worst case scenarios running through my mind, for weeks I waited in anticipation to hear back from the housing office. Finally, I was sent an email regarding where I would be living, along with the first name of my roommate. How was I supposed to Facebook stalk this girl if I was only given her first name?! Luckily, my roommate and I were able to contact each other via email. Speaking to my roommate, I came to realize that we did have a few things in common and we might even become great friends. I realized why the housing office didn't include her last name... it was so that I'd be unable to look her up on social networking sites to judge whether we'd be a good match.

The unknown can be scary, but the more I think about it, there's excitement that comes along with not knowing what to expect. The thought of homework and community bathrooms aside, I'm excited to meet my roommate and start my life as a college student.