Something New (Yet Familiar)

I'm not used to this, but I should be. I did it for eighteen years of my life, after all. When I stopped, I thought it was for good. Now, after a year and a half, I'm doing it again.

I am sharing a room with someone. And it's weird.

Don't get me wrong, I don't consider myself a loner. (I have friends, lots of friends! Yeah, yeah, we know, Joe, we know.) But seriously, there is something about sharing personal space with someone that is so incredibly different from any other kind of relationship.

When you live with someone else, you give up certain rights out of consideration, and expect the same in return. Want to play music? Clear it with your roommate. (Taylor Swift will always receive a veto from me. Make note.) Want to watch TV? Cool, but if you think it's going to be on all night, you are mistaken. And you will shower every day at the very least--it's August outside, even though it feels like December in this air conditioning.

I guess it's the constant possibility for conflict that has me on edge--I feel that if I don't assert my opinions early, it will only cause conflict later. On a positive note, growing up sharing a room with my brother was probably the very best background in conflict resolution I could have asked for.

And so far, this new situation has only been pleasant--I literally have nothing to complain about. My roommate seems like a nice guy--he's very neat, relatively talkative and he sounds kind of like Michael Cera. (Bonus.)

But that doesn't change the fact that he is a complete stranger. One who I only met an hour ago. One who will be sleeping six feet away from me every night.

I have high hopes for this year, and tonight has done nothing to change that--Muncie feels overwhelmingly more like home than Bluffton ever has. Right now, for the first time in a long time, life is good.

Wells County--I'll see you at Thanksgiving.