Sometimes, I think my roommate saved my life. Undoubtedly, she changed it, though I guess that happens for everyone. It’s different, sharing a small room with a near stranger after having your own room.
One of the hardest parts of making the decision to pursue boarding school for me was the fact that I would have a roommate. I’m a naturally messy person, I stay up late, I’m loud, and I’m probably the most sensitive person I know. I didn’t want to end up with a roommate I hated, or a roommate who hated me.
Simone and I spoke for the first time almost two weeks after random roommate assignments came out. I emailed her the second roommates were announced, but she didn’t answer. So I found her Instagram, and then her TikTok, and then her Snapchat. She eventually replied to one of those DMs.
Seems like a bad start, right?
But when we moved into our dorm room in August of 2024, Simone and I watched ‘The Great British Baking Show’ for a month straight. We built legos, and gossiped about everyone in our building. We told each other secrets and taught each other new things. When she was really into a guy who didn’t like her back, I yelled at her for two months until she got over it. Whenever I was too sad to do much of anything, she brought me dinner, breakfast, and whatever else I needed. Whenever we had a bad day, we played Roblox until the WiFi shut off. Our first friend groups were shared. Our Halloween costumes matched. We hated (and still do) all the same people.
What I’m trying to say is Simone became my best friend in no time. On paper, we don’t have much in common other than a lack of organization and a good sense of humor. But our friendship is the most natural thing in the world to me.
She’s not a perfect person — sometimes, she leaves food in the room & it drives me absolutely insane — but neither am I. We get into fights like anyone else. She doesn’t like when I turn the TV on all day, and I don’t like not being allowed to watch TV. She doesn’t like watching superhero cartoons, and I have impeccable taste in media. At one point during our first year living together, I became genuinely convinced she was a government spy sent to drive me insane. I only really stopped believing that theory because I couldn’t figure out a reason for the government to target me.
But none of that matters.
I didn’t have a lot of friends growing up. That’s embarrassing to admit, but it’s true. I wanted to feel like a real, serious, artist, and for some reason I thought that meant excluding myself from all things ‘popular’. It took me a long time to realize that misery isn’t a required part of artistry.
Simone was part of the reason I finally figured that out. She is always navigating a path to greater happiness, and she always remains completely authentic to herself on the path. Sometimes that path doesn’t make sense to me, but it doesn’t need to, because it’s Simone’s, not mine. She doesn’t let anyone dull her joy, she’s never embarrassed of her enthusiasm. And she’s still a brilliant artist. I’ve always admired that about her.
Having a roommate means always having someone to keep me accountable. I go through patches of almost cartoonish misery, during which I do next to nothing, sleep in my jeans, and completely abandon my social life. During those times, Simone sits and talks with me. She watches my superhero cartoons (or at least pretends to). And, because she knows my productivity is important to me, she makes sure I keep writing, keep showing up for my leadership positions, and keeps me trying. Sometimes she goes on library trips with me. Or she reads my scripts for me. Occasionally she makes fun of me until I get up and do my work. Once, even, she brought my calculator down for me at 5:30 in the morning when I locked myself out of the building. And I do all the same things for her.
Over breaks from school, there’s honestly nothing I miss even half as much as Simone. I’m not going to pretend it’s not nice to have some privacy, a bedroom to myself, complete control over my life. But I really would trade all of those things to get to live with Simone (though in an ideal world, I could have at least a larger room).
Almost everyone I know has a horror story about their first random roommate. I’m sure there’s a world in which I’m someone’s nightmare roommate. I don’t know how I got so lucky to meet my best friend & other half first try, but every day I am so grateful I did.
I said earlier that the hardest part about deciding to go to boarding school was the fact that I would have a random roommate. Now, the worst part about going to college is the fact that I’ll have a roommate who isn’t an actress from LA & the funniest person ever.
But I’m trying to remind myself how lucky I am I got to live with Simone in the first place. I’m a completely different person because I met her. I know she changed me for better & for good (that’s a Wicked reference just for you, Simone).
