Roomies of the World, Thank You For Making Our 20s Awesome

Here’s why you need to live with a roommate in your 20s. (They’re like a warm cup of espresso after a drunken night).

Ever since I was 18 and had moved out of my parents’ place to be sufficently scared and adequately homesick, roommates found me. I lived in a hostel with a hundred girls for five years (bonds of sisterhood forged through wine and Baskin Robbins? Check.) – before I decided to live completely on my own.

It was the dark and early years of adulthoodland – those that come with meagre salaries and hopeful internet time, scouting for cheap furniture on seedy websites. And then a roommate plopped almost miraculously into my lap (a friend of a friend). Before we knew it, we’d signed a lease, shaken on it and divided bed space.

Three years on, I could not imagine living any other way.

There are several things you could tell me about why you’d rather live with your parents, or on your own. Or perhaps some other way that hasn’t found its way into conventional romanticism yet. And there’s several I could tell you about living with a roommate.

Here’s why a roommate can be like a warm cup of espresso after a very drunken night, and why you couldn’t do without:

They’ve Mastered the Art of the Hangover Cure

I cannot begin to describe the number of times I’ve come back from an office sojourn (that involved lots of beer), believed I was completely fine… and then ended up hugging the kitchen cabinet. I dare say, my roommate’s done the same at equally frequent intervals. Your roommate will be the one (to quote a very fine Sex and the City episode) to hold your hair back while you vomit. They’ll be the one to brew a cup of coffee and grin and say “I love you back” when you feel particularly loquacious.

They Will Share the Last Slice of Pizza/Can of Beer

You know when you have a maddening urge for pepperoni? You’ve polished off all but the last couple of slices and are evolved enough to know you don’t throw out pizza? Good for you. Enter roommate to bail you out of a potential moral crisis. And then there’s the beer conundrum. Craving a cold one and cursing a liquor curfew? My roomie, on special magical occasions, has produced a bottle of port wine stashed away somewhere. Now, where could you find that joy at 2 am if you were living alone?

They Bail You Out. Period

Now, I’ve grown up with a sister. So we’ve got the whole nope-she’s-not-at-that-concert-you-forbade-her-to-attend routine down pat. Once you start living with a roommate, they end up doing the same for you. The two of you always have each other’s parents’ numbers saved and know when to switch to ass-saving mode in a jiffy.

They’re Ready Company

No matter what time it is, sometimes you’ll just crave company. It’s 3 am, there isn’t a soul on speed dial that will bat an eyelid, and you just want to Netflix in twos. Did a quick dekko around your mansion and found no one? Tsk tsk, if only you had a roommate to share a pack of Cheetos and Mad Men with.

You’re Never Locked Out

Forget every earth-shattering apocalyptic theory you’ve ever heard. THIS is the worst. If your living situation involves a landlord with a stink-eye that you’d rather not provoke, being locked out is the most miserable thing to happen to you – unless… there’s a spare key, courtesy a roommate. No matter how many times you’ve lost a key, you’ll never have to call someone to break the door in.

They’re Great Help During Your Working 20s

When you’re in your 20s, you’ve just finished college and begun working. Your choice of a roommate is usually also one in the same boat (unless you scouted Craig’s List to hunt for ‘least likely to commit a felony’). It helps to have someone swimming in the same bewildering waters of adulthood-is-crimping-my-style days. Sometimes they’ll help pep you for an interview, sometimes they’ll be the one you can vent to about an angry boss. Most often? They’ll wake you up when your alarm busted and you’re perennially late. Hallelujah!

They’re Mirrors to Your Life

Nobody knows you as well as your roommate. They’ve seen you with gunk in your hair and found you sprawled out on the living room floor, unable to finish a push-up. Which is why you can count on them to be earth-shatteringly honest with you. They’ll tell you if the outfit’s too Jackie or Marilyn, and if the small fortune you spent on hair spray while you’re balding is a good idea.