A New Roommate: The Continuing Saga

Katie D.

January 9, 2011 - 7:59 PM

And once again, I'm announcing a new roommate! The Danger Zone (my house) experiences the standard college coming and going of residents. I've lived here for almost three years now, and in that time have seen five roommates come and go. For a four bedroom house, that's a pretty intense turnover rate. The drama of co-housing with other over committed college-aged folks is a continuing adventure, and one that students get through with varying degrees of grace.

The good news is that our old housemate, Marcus, left with many regrets, and that our new roommate is already fitting in well in our eclectic and tight-knit home.

Claire moved in on January 2nd, so today we are a week into our friendship. I like her a lot already. She's a great combination of passionately involved and laid back. She's a rock climber, traveler, cook, and dancer. We've already had a couple of great discussions of places we've been and things we hope to do in life. We had a dance party Friday night and she fit right in with the hard-dancing household (my roommates Lesley and Devin often dance from 11 pm to 3 am without a break).

We were really disappointed to replace Marcus, and were getting ready for finals when he announced that he would be moving out. We went through the standard cycle of denial, anger, sadness, and acceptance before we finally started actively looking for someone new to complete the Danger Zone. Claire was introduced to me through an acquaintance of mine, who said she was "awesome" and sent me her contact information. About fifteen minutes into showing her around the house, we found out we'd traveled to several of the same places in Peru, had several groups of friends in common, and had a strong common interest in outdoor activities. In addition to all the things we have in common, she brings some great new things to the house: particularly her talent with invention and design.

Claire is a Product Design [http://pd.uoregon.edu/] major at the UO. I didn't even know this program existed, but it's through a collaboration with Architecture and Visual Art. She's built all kinds of furniture, as well as working with a diverse array of materials for small design projects. She has experience with woodworking and basic electrical work. She's promised us a compost bin for the household, which is much-needed. She also spent a term doing an internship with Keen shoes, and designed several models of shoes, two of which might be selected by the company.

Roommates and housing can be both an incredible source of stress and also a true joy of college life. I feel so lucky to be living with my current set of housemates, all of whom are dynamic and passionate folks, who are involved in a wide array of programs and plans. We can travel together, hold potlucks, spend downtime, and throw some spectacular parties. I'm so glad we found Claire, and that we've got a set of four who will be both a pleasure to live with and a source of deep friendships.