My rooming assignment for Barnard was scheduled to arrive by the end of December. New Year's Day came and went and no news arrived. Still, my mind was pretty much at ease since dorm housing is guaranteed for the four years I am away at school. In theory, it didn't really matter if I knew the name of the building where I'd be living or the name of the girl with whom I'd be bunking. All would be revealed when I arrived on campus next Thursday the 13th.
In reality, however, my curiosity about my roommate was becoming unbearable. Where was she from, what would she be like? I had filled out a questionnaire about roommate preferences months ago, had there been a successful match?
Moving logistics were becoming pressing as well. I was not sure exactly where to ship my belongings to guarantee that my pillow and comforter arrived by the time I was ready to make up my extra long twin college issue bed. Anything going anywhere seems to take eight to 10 working days and I didn't want to pay extra to speed things along.
***
I decided to take action and so yesterday, just a week before I am set to board a plane to New York City, my first official day of packing began. Box number one, sized 24" x 18" x 18" was stuffed full of sheets, pillowcases, bathrobes, etc. Shipping these items off wasn't a problem to me, as seeing them go didn't seriously downsize my wardrobe.
It was much more difficult to part with box number two, the one with winter coats. For starters, I have become very attached to some of them. When my mother told me to insure the box I worried, why was that necessary, could something happen to them? I couldn't imagine life without them. I contemplated briefly taking them with me on the plane, but my mom convinced me that I would be very unhappy lugging all these massive winter coats from San Mateo, to SFO, to JFK, and finally to my Barnard dorm. So I conceded and packing them lovingly, filling the spaces around the edges with hats, gloves, scarves. Box two was sealed. My Boston born and bred father warns me constantly that I don't have any clue what is in store for me weather-wise in New York City, but as long as this box arrives safely, I'm as ready as I'll ever be.
Just before I left the house, a message appeared in my Hotmail inbox titled "Hey Roomies," sent from a girl named Hannah. Curious, I clicked the link. And just like that I had roommates, plural.
Recommended for you
It seems Hannah had been just as interested as I was concerning housing assignments and couldn't wait any longer. Earlier in the day she had called Barnard and convinced them to reveal her roommates' names. Armed with this information, she immediately contacted us.
At first, I couldn't believe I had two roommates, but then it all made sense to me. Earlier, while I was packing my towels, I had a feeling that two would not be enough. So I packed a third. Looking back, I realize now it must have been a psychic episode. There wouldn't be just two roommates, there would be three.
***
In a quick of exchange of e-mails, here is what I have learned so far about my roommates: Hannah, an avid theatre fan, is from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. She warned me and Jen that we would have to keep the "Joisy" jokes to ourselves. I promised to do so as long as she didn't laugh and point at me every time I declared something "hella cool," like many of us California teenagers so often do.
My other roommate Jen, from Houston, Texas, spent her semester off interning with the John Kerry campaign in Louisiana, traveling through Europe with her mother and watching the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Plus, like me, she has a peculiar fascination with the Olsen Twins.
Although Jen and Hannah are now just names in an e-mail, after next week they'll be my friends, my roommates, and above all, my Barnard sisters. I can't hardly wait.
Grace Kallis is a graduate of Aragon High School. She will be attending Barnard College in New York City. Her column, Graceland, appears every Tuesday. If you have some news you'd like to send Grace's way, e-mail her at gkallis5@hotmail.com
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.