JOURNAL NO.2

31 Rue Duret, Saturday morning at 11:30 a.m. I’m awoken by the sound of the front door opening, my roommate has just gotten home. I fell asleep on the couch because my bed was taken by Ren. The apartment is filled with girls. Ren and Shanisse in my room, Luna in hers and Emily in hers. 

Since we’ve only been here for two weeks we don’t know much about each other. I must admit its very strange because it feels like we’ve all been friends forever. Ali loves ballet and photography; she’s able to cook and she enjoys it. Her bubbly and fun personality is a perfect match for me. Luna is a writer, inside and out. She feels everything deeply and personally and articulates her feelings and thoughts beautifully. Emily is also a writer, but she’s many other things. She’s smart, extremely smart — in many senses of the word. She prioritizes and plans ahead, she is motivated to get out into the world and see everything for herself. 

I genuinely couldn’t be happier with my roommates. We have a working dynamic. We are open to talking to each other and open to leaving each other alone. We each do our part in the house, cleaning and buying toilet paper, etc,. We have a mutual respect and understanding, one that I have never had before. My last roommate experience was vastly different. I didn’t communicate with any of my roommates. Nobody cleaned up after themselves. Girls were buying toilet paper and keeping it in their room rather that in the bathroom for everyone to use. 

Then there’s the other girls. Shanisse and Ren are the two girls I don’t live with that I’m closest to. Shanisse is vibrant in her thoughts and her personality. It’s clear that she knows what she feels and thinks and is not afraid to show it to anyone. From her sunglasses to her shoes, she expresses herself through style and voice. Ren is a little different. Like Ali, she’s a dancer. She knows how to give advice and how to empathize with how anyone is feeling. I felt like I could tell her anything the first time I met her. She’s intelligent and well rounded — it may not seem like it but she knows exactly what she’s doing. 

Back to Saturday morning. Shortly after I woke up, everyone else did. We gathered in the living room and talked about how our nights went. After a detailed description from everyone, we decided we were hungry. Shanisse, Ren, Luna and I ventured downstairs to find something to eat. 

There was nothing I wanted more than a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich from the deli up the street from my house at home, but obviously that wasn’t gonna happen. We walked over to the bakery and I decided a baguette with ham and cheese would be good enough for me. The others weren’t satisfied at the bakery so they continued on to the supermarket. 

Walking in separate directions, I was thinking about what the girls were like 3 years ago. How much they’ve grown and learned. When did they realize who they wanted to be, are they even happy with who they are today? But then I realized none of that really matters right now. What matters right now is who they are and who I am and how we work together. And how we work together is good; it’s actually perfect. 

I went upstairs and started eating my sandwich. They arrived soon after I did. Stuffing our faces with baguette, tabouli, salad, chips, iced tea and Madeline's nobody spoke a word until they were full. Too lazy to shower and too lazy to clean up, we sat around the table complaining about our headaches and our homework. 

It felt like we’d done this 500 times together and we’d do it 500 more. It was the most comfortable I had been with new people in the longest time in my life.