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Alycia Scott
Having roommates is undoubtedly one of the most eye-opening, sometimes rewarding, and often stress-inducing freshman experiences at Yale. College is a time to discover yourself, plan for a career, and get a slightly skewed taste of what life is like in the real world. But, above all else, it is the time to be hurled into a very small space with all your stuff and to share that small space with three strangers and all of their stuff. These are the people you eat, sleep, and breathe, and in turn are the people who eat, sleep, and breathe you. At first, it's nice to have that taste of familiarity.
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But soon you begin to realize that these three girls from places scattered across the country are not quite like you, and are not so perfect to room with as you wanted to think initially. The first few weeks of school were like summer camp, I focused solely on the good things about everyone I was meeting. Eventually, the honeymoon comes to an end.
When I met my three roommates for the first time, I had no worries that there would ever be any problems between us. There was just joy at getting to know new, exciting people who were totally different from me. It was fun hearing about the wonders of San Francisco, about how valuable and rewarding the all-girls school experience is, and listening in awe to the praises being sung about good ol' NYC. I, coming from South Carolina, had never had such close interaction with people of such different backgrounds from mine.
Being exposed to the beliefs of one of my roommates who was much more religious than I, I realized more about my beliefs. I had never been in an environment where I felt compelled to question what I believed, but, unbeknownst to her, my roommate and her background encouraged that new thought process for me.
I also learned how to be more tolerant of others' lifestyles. I learned to respect that everyone does her own thing and is just as entitled to do so as I am. Although there were times when I would have loved a single, I wouldn't change anything about the eight or so months I spent with my freshman roommates. The four of us had fun over the course of the year, and we're still friends at the year's end. My roommates and I grew and matured both individually and together, and we learned so much from each other, once we learned how to live with being completely different people.
- Alycia Scott
- Lauren Keane, By Lauren Keane
- Mairin Burke, By Mairin Burke
- Sylvia Park, By Sylvia Park
All materials © 2000 The Yale Herald, Inc., and its staff.
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