When guys think of girls living together, they like to picture lingerie, pillow fights, and slumber parties. In reality, it bears more resemblance to “Flavor of Love.”

Living with your friends can be great; they become your second family. But it’s not easy. The little things suddenly become taboo and awkward topics. I’ve heard some great stories over the past four years.  Sharing clothes is always an issue; especially when the outfit you lent your friend is still hanging in their closet two years later. And the littlest issue, like what is on TV, can be the cause of a blowout fight.

You never realize what weird habits people have until you live with them. Something as simple as getting ready for bed can be a process, or the noises they make in their sleep might keep you up all night. You probably wind up sexiled, or have your roommate leave their dirty tissues on your desk at least once.

The dedication of people on the crew team is amazing to me, but the dedication of their roommates is really admirable.  Having a roommate that is up before the sun for practice, and being able to sleep through their morning routine of racket, is the work of a champion.  Especially if they let the alarm go off and hit snooze a million times.

And please note: your roommates are not just your actual roommates, but your floor mates and housemates. So have some decency and don’t throw up in the hallway.

However it’s not all bad. I thought living with strangers in a forced triple freshman year would be the end of the world, but it worked out pretty well. I wound up finding roommates who shared my affinity for naps and ABC Family in the afternoon. Entering the unknown lets you get to know people who you might not have been friends with otherwise.

When something is given the prefix of “Roomie” (roomie dinner, roomie naps, etc), it automatically makes it more entertaining and more exciting than it would have been otherwise.

I know people seriously love their roommates – but no matter how much you love your roommate, it’s just not appropriate to jump into your roommate’s bed without pants on.

Despite the horror stories, it’s always nice to have someone to come home to and share the stories of your day with; someone to make fun of you after a ‘stride of pride’ (it’ll catch on); someone to have the drunken munchies with and start a floor picnic; and someone to pick up the pieces when you’ve had the worst night ever.