As an Eagle Ambassador and a freshman student here at Juniata, one of the questions I most commonly get is, “How do you like your roommate?” I have been asked this question at least a dozen times by parents and students alike, and I answer it the same way every time.
“Oh my god, I love her.”
Now, I know that statement does not make me seem like the most eloquent speaker (perhaps because I’m not), but it is the truth. My random roommate is one of the best things that has happened to me at Juniata and in life as a whole.
Before school began, I was pretty terrified of getting a bad roommate. I have two older siblings, both of whom had terrible roommate experiences, so I was expecting the worst. I tried to combat what I perceived as the inevitable by finding a roommate through the little bios on the Class of 2019 Facebook page, but somehow everyone had already paired off. I was left with the ominous reality of the random roommate. So, I filled out that little survey as honestly as possible, and prayed that I wouldn’t end up with an axe murderer.
Then I waited, and waited, and waited for what I promise you will feel like forever. Finally, in July, I got the name of my roommate: Bekah Ford. What I saw from my time spent Facebook stalking was old high school photo shoots, pictures from prom, and your other average things like photos of Alaskan landscapes, green New England mountain peaks, and a ton of pictures of a group of ragged-looking people hiking a 2,181-mile trail through the Appalachian Mountains. This odd variety of photos confused me. Who was this girl? Why wasn’t she shaving her legs? (A question I asked when I hadn’t yet grasped that she had just hiked the whole AT). Finally, and most importantly, would she like me?
When I finally made it to Juniata in August, I was more than a little intimidated by Bekah. This girl had done what most of us only talk about doing: seizing the opportunities life has to offer. I was no match. I’m not going to say it was perfect at first interaction, because for a long time, we were simply acquaintances. I guess that’s what happens when you’re too intimidated by each other to have a real conversation. However, after one long night of making guacamole, we bonded. We haven’t really left each other ever since. We eat almost every meal together, share two classes, are currently raising a pet fish together, and I plan to live with her for just about… forever.
I could go on here for hours about how amazing my roommate is, or how she buys me candy, does my laundry when I’m sick, makes me laugh, or just generally brightens my day, but something tells me that is not what this blog is for. My point is, do not be scared of the random roommate. It could work out beautifully for you, as it did for me and so many others. Even if it doesn’t, you can very easily fix it, so there is nothing to be afraid of. Trust me, sometimes you have to roll the dice. If you do, you just might win it big.
I’m not surprised that Bekah is a great roomie. She has always been a super kid. I may be prejudice because I’m her grandpa!
I see you have bonded as you both have L.L.Bean boots