It’s something you’ve heard hundreds of times before: “Be careful who you talk on the Internet!” And while this advice may seem a bit unnecessary at times, it becomes all the more real when looking for a roommate for college. With “catfishing”, or hiding who you really are, becoming more and more prevalent in society, it can be so easy to think you will be rooming with one person and end up with someone completely different.
We’ve all heard countless awful roommate stories: roommates “sex-iling” each other, being loud at all hours, leaving messes everywhere, etc. As you prepare for college, these stories will only be told more often. Like everyone, I wanted to have the perfect roommate, someone who I could rely on for homework help, or even just someone to get Starbucks with on cold winter days.
A quick glace on the “IU Class of 2017” page quickly showed me that everyone was looking for that perfect roommate. And after a while, people’s posts would all start to sound the same: they liked to go out and party, but academics were a priority. To say it was overwhelming is an understatement.
I started off by messaging some people that posted in the group, asking the basic questions about what their major was, which dorm they wanted to live in, and many others. Picking a roommate is a lot like Internet dating; you want to pick the perfect match and not just settle. At some points I got frustrated during this process, thinking I would never find the best roommate for me.
Then, everything changed. I received a message from Hannah, a girl whose post I had “liked” a few days earlier. We began chatting about our respective majors and wants in a roommate, and ended up talking about our mutual love of Harry Potter, Mean Girls, and indie/alternative music. We joked about stalking one another on Facebook, talked about our mutual love of ‘90s music, and what activities we wanted to get involved in on campus. On a whim, I asked if she wanted to room together (which she did, thankfully!). Still, though, I was nervous about rooming with someone I had never met. Sure, she seemed perfect on Facebook, but would we get along when we lived together?
We continued to talk during the summer and even had a countdown for move-in-day! I was exceptionally anxious to meet her, hoping that the sweet girl I had come to know so much about was just as awesome in real life. I was in the dorm room with my parents in the process of moving in when she arrived. Coincidently, we were wearing the exact same shirt. We talked for a bit and decided to go to lunch at Mother Bears with our families. We talked the entire time and I grew more and more comfortable with my decision to live with her.
Two months later and I am still so happy I decided to live with her. We get along exceptionally well, so well in fact that people on our floor thought we are life-long friends instead of just a semi-random roommate pairing. We do nearly everything together, from attending football games to having dance parties to Beyonce when we complete assignments to getting lunch together nearly every day. She is everything I wanted in a roommate, and more!
Don’t rule out Facebook or other social media websites for finding a roommate. I’m here to tell you it IS possible to find the perfect roommate through this method, despite what you may have heard. Be patient and know that you will find the perfect roommate for you!
Happy roommate hunting! :)