2008 Woodie Awards
Leaving your roommates behind: from suite to efficiency
Issue date: 5/1/08
Several weeks ago I wrote an article about living with my current roommate, a very close friend of mine. To quickly recap: My roommate very much appreciates cleanliness, while you might say I am more relaxed about housekeeping.
We worried at first that this would present a problem. After all, many close friends who move in together do not speak by the end of the year. Yet luckily my friend and I have managed to live together successfully.
And yet, my lease for my off-campus efficiency starts this week. That's right: I'm living by myself next year. "How did this happen?" my friends understandably question. "Trouble in paradise? I thought everything was great," another friend volunteered a week ago.
To which I sighed: "We both thought she was going abroad for the semester and I didn't want to have find another roommate." With her springtime absence in mind, I signed my lease and happily received my free key chain.
However, my roommate decided shortly after I committed to my new home that she would stay in Baltimore next year. "No!" I cried angrily. Why couldn't you have told me that before I signed my lease?" "I'm sorry," she responded. "I just didn't know. This really [is quite unfortunate].
We glanced at the Ben & Jerry's carton and red nail polish in front of us. We were having a girls' night and we knew it was one of the last. We heard Britney question through the speakers of my laptop: "loneliness up ahead, emptiness behind, where do I go?"
We shook our heads, laughing. How melodramatic. But we both knew what the other was thinking: It will never again be the way it is right now.
It hit me: I am living on my own next year. True, I had a single in the AMRs but my neighbor and good friend lived next door. My wonderful RA lived right down the hall. And I had friends in the adjacent houses.
But it will be different next year. There is a good chance I will not know my neighbors. There won't be any RA around to comfort me when I almost electrocute myself pulling out a deformed MacBook charger from the socket in the wall. I won't be able take the elevator downstairs and ask maintenance to clean the part of my carpet where I spilled 3x concentrate detergent.
We worried at first that this would present a problem. After all, many close friends who move in together do not speak by the end of the year. Yet luckily my friend and I have managed to live together successfully.
And yet, my lease for my off-campus efficiency starts this week. That's right: I'm living by myself next year. "How did this happen?" my friends understandably question. "Trouble in paradise? I thought everything was great," another friend volunteered a week ago.
To which I sighed: "We both thought she was going abroad for the semester and I didn't want to have find another roommate." With her springtime absence in mind, I signed my lease and happily received my free key chain.
However, my roommate decided shortly after I committed to my new home that she would stay in Baltimore next year. "No!" I cried angrily. Why couldn't you have told me that before I signed my lease?" "I'm sorry," she responded. "I just didn't know. This really [is quite unfortunate].
We glanced at the Ben & Jerry's carton and red nail polish in front of us. We were having a girls' night and we knew it was one of the last. We heard Britney question through the speakers of my laptop: "loneliness up ahead, emptiness behind, where do I go?"
We shook our heads, laughing. How melodramatic. But we both knew what the other was thinking: It will never again be the way it is right now.
It hit me: I am living on my own next year. True, I had a single in the AMRs but my neighbor and good friend lived next door. My wonderful RA lived right down the hall. And I had friends in the adjacent houses.
But it will be different next year. There is a good chance I will not know my neighbors. There won't be any RA around to comfort me when I almost electrocute myself pulling out a deformed MacBook charger from the socket in the wall. I won't be able take the elevator downstairs and ask maintenance to clean the part of my carpet where I spilled 3x concentrate detergent.
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contatolucrorapido
posted 8/15/08 @ 10:23 AM EST
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