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The Roommates Series, Part 1.

October 13, 2021 5 min read 26 Comments

Fall Semester: You Mean I Have to Sleep There?!

I’m 18 and it’s 2 years post-high school since I took a gap year before embarking on my college journey.

I’m doe-eyed, excited, but super nervous as the longest time I spent away from home was a school day. Nonetheless, I was packed up and ready for my first collegiate year. 

I chose a small school in upstate New York nestled in the mountainsβ€”quite literallyβ€”it was actually a couple of minutes away from the infamous town of Sleepy Hollow. And yes, boys and girls, the drive up was just as spooky as the stories neatly nestled within town. I’m talking, disappearing cars, ominous state troopers, and of course, pure bone-chilling fear…

At this point, you’re probably confused but let me tell ya when our sunny day from the Bronx turned into white fog so heavy it felt like we were extras in that movie β€œThe Fog”, the spooky meter went up to 100%. And like any out-of-towners in any scary movie, we made our way to a gas station where lone behold, some state troopers and their vehicles were out front.

Feeling at ease, we asked for directions, to which they replied the highways were closed and we could either use: side road #1 (a u-turn past them) or side road #2 (left and around). Fine, cool, we finally have some options but I crap you not, after mentioning side road #2 as an option, he said in the most country voice, β€œI wouldn’t go that way if I were y’all” ?!

At this point I can honestly say this was a GET OUT moment before the movie even came out as we all awkwardly laughed, proceeding to reverse and get up outta there.

Just as we waved out big thank-yous and did Β½ the β€œU”, then made a u-turn to pass them again, THEY. WERE. GONE. All of them and every car, wagon, and cone.

Now I might have conveniently forgotten what the heck happened between that moment and actually arriving at school but the point is we side-roaded itβ€”fog and all-cause I wasn’t missing move-in day! 

Finally there, we walk in and I’m greeted by this man. And I say man because I was used to the boys in high school but THIS was a whole different ball game.

Turns out his name was Zaid, and he was the equivalent of A Day to Remember (a metal rock band) song. I’m talking tattoos, piercings, super deep voice, confidence, and I’m dropping stuff, stuttering, and can’t collect my thoughts. So of course, I push my mom to do the talking, stay quiet, and try to formulate sentences that don’t make me sound like a noob.

Getting my room assignment, I’m met with the 6 girls who, unbeknownst to them, would be the start of the roommate brigade.

Nonetheless, they were all so nice and welcoming during this utterly hectic, and dare I say, overwhelming time that I thought everything just may turn out okay. That was until I saw that I’d be sharing a room with 2 girls instead of 1! Not a big deal you say, well it was when you find out my double occupancy room was now going to be a triple occupancy room that’s meant for 2 (but in all honesty, it was the size of a single)! 

Now, to put this in perspective to room assignment went like this:

Room #1: had 1 girl (who happened to be the RA – important detail for later)

Room #2: had 2 girls

Room #3: had 3 girls …wait, what? 

Now my math isn’t that great, I’m actually math dyslexic but if you have 6 girls and 3 rooms…well, you get the point.

Needless to say, the first night there was H.E.L.L. I legit worked off no sleep, getting only a few flutters of shut-eye on the living room couchβ€”again another thing that’s super fuzzy to remember. All I know is I was tired, my back hurt, and I’d have given anything to sleep in an actual bed that didn’t have an overhead bunk 12 inches from my pillow (yep, that was the offer and I chose the to sleep couch)!

Unbeknownst to me, my mom (bless her heart) was making calls and doing that mom thang to get me out of that triple. Of course, I only found out about said supermom after a) her telling me when I came back home for Thanksgiving and b) Zaid (you remember the manly man) telling me that my mom called him his RA phone at 3 am trying to get the room situation fixed and that he couldn’t do anything about it.

Gah, I’m getting second-hand embarrassment even reliving how mortified I was because the only thing I could hear him saying was β€œyour mom called me…at 3 am” and nothing else. 

But if you thought that was rough, wait until you hear about what happened when I actually got out of the triple.


So here we have it! Part 1 of The Roommate Series, I hope y’all stick along as we relive a big part of my college journey.

Here’s a sneak peek for part 2:

“…I get ahead of myself, I’m told I’m moving into a new room and I’m torn about going.Β Since my RA was my suitemate, she definitely took me under her wing and decided to try and facilitate an easy transition into my new room.Β 

We went to visit and everybody seemed nice enough. My new roommate wasn’t really a talker but ehh I get it. We all get chatting and everything seems fine.

When I went to visit a second time to tell them I was officially moving in, I noticed the layout of the room was different. Now, this wouldn’t have been a big deal if a) said roommate would have just asked before changing the room layout and b) if said roommate would have just asked about changing the layout. You catch my drift…”


What would you major in if you had the opportunity to ‘redo’ college?

26 Comments

  • Sol October 15, 2021 at 12:47 pm

    I have only tried sleeping with some friends for a few days but not live with them as room mates.

    • annaelleliz January 6, 2023 at 12:23 am

      Hey, that still counts! It’s like dripping your toes into a roommate situation. And on the plus side, you can go back to your own space after πŸ˜…

  • lavandamichelle October 15, 2021 at 5:12 am

    My daughter have 2 roommates this year and she is loving it. They are great friends already!

    • annaelleliz October 15, 2021 at 9:52 pm

      Oh glad she’s loving the experience so far! You for sure form friendship bonds with roommates super quickly so she’ll always have a set of close friends through college which is the best part!

  • swathiiyer October 14, 2021 at 9:09 pm

    I have one roommate that too when I was doing postdoctoral fellowship. she become friend in the end. Your writeup bring back memories.

    • annaelleliz October 14, 2021 at 9:36 pm

      Always great when you can become friends with your roommate!

  • Catalina October 14, 2021 at 4:21 pm

    I think it’s an interesting experience to live with roommates. I loved it a lot!

    • annaelleliz October 14, 2021 at 9:35 pm

      Wouldn’t trade it at all! I really loved it (at times) and it’s really cool to have all these funny memories to look back on!

  • Kelli A October 14, 2021 at 11:31 am

    Reading about your experience takes me back to the day I dropped off my daughter for her first night with roommates. Thankfully they are all still friends to this day! I am excited to hear more about your journey!

    • annaelleliz October 14, 2021 at 9:33 pm

      How was that experience for you? It’s a whirlwind for us students but the parents probably have a bunch of emotions too! Oh wow, that’s so great! I’m actually still friends with some of my roommates (more on that later 😁). So excited to continue the story!

  • Gervin Khan October 14, 2021 at 11:08 am

    I have never tried to live with other people but I can still say that it’s quite scary and hard sharing a room with other people.

    • annaelleliz October 14, 2021 at 9:30 pm

      It was an adjustment at first but after settling in it wasn’t that bad!

  • Ana De-Jesus October 14, 2021 at 9:06 am

    Girl I hear you. I have shared places with many a roomate, and have had positive and negative experience. Sometimes you need your ownn space though aha.

    • annaelleliz October 14, 2021 at 9:18 pm

      Truuuueee! By month 2 I was ready for my own space, but all of the college stories/memories def came from having so many personalities in a shared space 🀣

  • MELANIE EDJOURIAN October 14, 2021 at 8:06 am

    I didn’t get to move out of the family home when I studied. Glad I never had to worry about sharing a room.

    • annaelleliz October 14, 2021 at 9:16 pm

      Haha, having my own room was a breath of fresh air!

  • terristeffes October 13, 2021 at 9:26 pm

    I remember this life too well, and it has been F O R E V E R since I was in college.

    • annaelleliz October 13, 2021 at 11:32 pm

      Haha 🀣! It’s so fun to go down college memeory lane!

  • Tasheena October 13, 2021 at 9:13 pm

    You are such a great storyteller, I can’t imagine having to go through this.

    • annaelleliz October 13, 2021 at 11:31 pm

      Thank you so much πŸ’•. The beginning was a little rough but it evened out a bit!

  • NPC October 13, 2021 at 8:34 pm

    I’ve never had roommates, I don’t know if I’d be able to stay sane. I like my space!

    • annaelleliz October 13, 2021 at 11:30 pm

      Haha spending time outside and weekly vent sessions with my mom definitely helped πŸ˜‚.

    • Richelle Escat October 14, 2021 at 3:19 am

      This story is engaging, I wonder how it felt to have roommates. It must be exhausting, as I imagined. Though I never experienced having one.

      • annaelleliz October 14, 2021 at 9:15 pm

        Glad it’s interesting for ya! I was actually super excited to have roommates and experience “college life” so I was determined to make it work..even with the curveballs πŸ˜…

  • Amber Myers October 13, 2021 at 4:38 pm

    Yikes, it would be hard living with all those people. I’d probably lose my mind. I do not like being around people too much.

    • annaelleliz October 13, 2021 at 11:29 pm

      I don’t think I realized how much I wasn’t a fan until after I got my own room in my next college…but I skip ahead 😁!

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