Hi guys! I hope everyone enjoyed their January and has had some time to regroup and return to their normal routine (hopefully). The fall semester of 2024 is rapidly approaching, as everyone is aware. Finding a roommate might be intimidating at first, regardless of your year in school. So, I thought I’d share a little bit about how I met my roommates in case you’re looking for a roommate right now or are just looking for an entertaining story. Buckle up folks, it’s about to get real…

To start, I knew nothing about my roommates. I had to choose Mayflower since I submitted my housing application late. I settled on a fourth-floor unoccupied room. My suitemates, Kiriana and Giteeka, were already listed there. A few weeks later, Kevy, my roommate, appeared. We didn’t communicate for most of the summer since I was scared to reach out. Then, Kiriana reached out and asked for my Instagram (I had to make one btw). Group chats were made, and cheesy introductions were given, but over time we started talking more about what kinds of things we were going to bring to campus. Funny story actually, a random woman named Sasha pretended to be our roommate in an iMessage group chat because we got Kevy’s number wrong.

Anyway, once everyone moved in, my biggest goal was to try to get to know my roommates beyond their names and majors. It was hard because I was on campus a lot during move-in for Iowa Edge. The first roommate I hung out with was Kiri. Y’all…it was awkward. We walked around downtown and talked but it felt like an awkward Tinder date. Yes…it was that awkward.

I went to the Silent Disco with Kiri and Giteeka, but we didn’t really talk much because we were too busy enjoying the music. However, I still had a great time because I got to meet Mia, another amazing blogger for this site. I finally got to see Kevy at the end of the week, and we went to a concert at Hancher together. I realized that we had a lot in common, even though it wasn’t the best spot to talk. I believe that our general close proximity is what finally allowed us to start bonding. We gradually started incorporating our plans so we could all hang out after learning how to live together. There was also this big debrief session that may have blossomed the friendship, but we won’t go into detail about that.

Very few people are truly able to say they have had wonderful first roommates, but I am proud to say I have THREE wonderful roommates. After lots of late-night conversations, endless boxes of brownie mix, and a botched effort at Secret Santa and dorm parties, I can truly say my first semester was great. Even though living in a cramped space with three other girls can be challenging at times, I couldn’t ask for a better situation. I am incredibly grateful to these three intelligent, gorgeous women who have been the most genuine, hilarious, and supportive friends I have ever had. My beautiful roommate, Kevy, is the sweetest person I’ve ever met. She’s my nap buddy and the source of my recent boba obsession. Next are Kiri and Giteeka, my suitemates. Giteeka never fails to make me laugh, which makes her the perfect partner for a corny movie. I always go to Kiri to talk about everything going on in life and we can laugh for hours about nothing at all. Here are some pictures of my roommates that I love:

I know. I know. This story sounds like a fairytale, right? I’m kidding. Seriously though, I’m really glad I chose a random group of roommates. Coming to campus, my biggest goal was to make new friends, and building these relationships with my roommates allowed me to achieve that goal. Sure, we have our moments, but we always talk it out and remember that we are still growing as college students. If you stayed until the very end, I hope you enjoyed my story and were hopefully able to feel a little bit more at ease about the whole idea of roommates. I’m so excited to share more stories with you guys during February, I have a lot of posts planned this month. Stay tuned!!