Roommates are Great

I'm going to go on a bit of a tangent that only relates to Cambridge by way of conspicuous absence. That would, of course, be roommates. While having  two huge rooms to myself sounds pretty awesome I've noticed that there are a few downsides as well.

To be honest, it took me a little while to get used to living with people since I'm pretty private and I was especially worried about having 6 girls living in one small apartment this past year. But it turned out to be amazing and I find myself missing my roommates all the time. So in honor of my beloved Apt 37 I would just like to take a few moments to reflect on the virtue of roommates.

My Second Family!

1. Roommates are loud. This means that whether they mean to or not they often wake you up in the morning. This is great as it prevents you from sleeping in. They may say to you "hey Jenny, I know you were up till four last night working on that paper and I'm sure you're really tired but if I remember correctly I think you have class in ten minutes so it'd be a really good idea if you got up." This would have been a wonderful thing to happen yesterday when I ended up sleeping through two lectures and not waking up till 11.

2. Cleanliness. As a human, I create pollution such as dirty dishes, a messy room or excess noise. If I lived by myself I would probably be an absolute pig. However, the social pressure of a community forces me to keep those negative externalities in check and thus the opinion of a group is a positive force on my home life. What I mean is that when I live with people I try to be less messy. Or at least I feel bad about it when I am messy and try to clean it up faster. When I live alone, things like this tend to happen:

there's just crap. everywhere.

3. Chats. Sometimes you just want to talk to someone at 2 in the morning. Sometimes you want a big hug after a long day. Sometimes you want a laugh. My roommates this past year were some of the funniest people I have ever met. We had what I considered some really witty exchanges and just incredibly silly moments together (time out wall anyone?)

4. Help. Roommates are great for giving help. They help when you have computer problems, printer problems, boy problems, car problems etc etc. They tend to give great advice.  And when they can't give great advice they still have phenomenal ears. My roomies put up with all kinds of crazy from me this year and I'm really thankful for that.

5. Home. Whether its sleeping like lions, making Christmas stockings or playing guitar in the bathroom, they make me feel safe and loved.


Basically, what I realized this past year is that my roommates were my best friends, my family and, collectively, my surrogate mom. Our apartment just fit together so well and cohesively  and each person had their strengths that really helped me when I needed them most.

When I think of returning to BYU in a few weeks I think of going back to Lafayette 37 but then I have to remind myself that I'll be in a different place this year with slightly different people. I'm incredibly sad that Kasey and Kristy won't be with us in the fall. Both, funnily enough will be in China. Kasey on a mission in Hong Kong and Kristy on a study abroad. It won't be the same without them, but I know that they are on to amazing adventures.

such an amazing roommate and incredible friend

But onward and upward right! Great things lie ahead! Specifically I get to have the wonderful Lottie for a roommate this year! Who knows what kind of crazy we will get up to? I Imagine it will be a bit like this:

snuggle time

Or maybe even this: 

a photo that defines our friendship

Alright, so I know this was a bit sentimental and probably not too interesting but since this is what I've been thinking about lately, it's what I wrote.

Thank you Ashley, Smitty, Katie, Kasey and Kristy for sharing your loveliness with me over the past year!

good luck on your mission KaseFace!