My roommate officially moves out of our apartment today.

Crazy.

We got randomly placed together in the dorms freshman year and have lived together ever since. I couldn’t imagine living with anyone else. One of the first conversations we had consisted of “I’m bringing a rice cooker!” and one of the

Freshman Year

first questions asked was, “are you a virgin?” I remember one of the first nights we spent in the dorms – we went to Blockbuster and bought some tapes for our small TV. We stopped by Safeway and bought a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and we sat on our dorm room linoleum floor and watched Chris Rock poke fun at Asian stereotypes. My roommate is Chinese.

From there on out, we were inseparable. We quickly became close friends – sisters. We did everything together. We were Connie and Lauren. Always. Our friends assumed that if they invited me, Connie would come, and vice versa. We literally spent every moment of free time together.  We would hear horror stories from other friends hating their roommates and we would always look at each other and say, “we got so lucky.”

Freshman year can be summed up in a few memories: Sig Ep, Kitt West, the Russian Mafia and midday naps. Oh and, “I’m an angry dog, I’m an angry dog!” “Oh no you’re not. Oh no you’re not.”

What a great year. And it was all uphill from there.

We moved into our first apartment together sophomore year after spending the summer apart. The apartment was perfect. Three blocks from campus, three blocks from Pearl St. Perfection.

Sophomore Year

Sophomore year we buckled down a bit on school work finding each of our niches. We still had our bathroom talks and our sleepovers. We developed great new friendships and extended the friendships we made freshman year. We were still the dynamic duo.

We stayed in Boulder for the summer between sophomore and junior year. It was a crazy busy summer, but we spent plenty of time at the pool and barbequing. Then, that August, we got Izzy. We went to the mall to pick up pants I was getting hemmed, and we came home with a kitten. She was the best investment I have ever made, even if Connie is allergic. Neither of us could resist her. And she just extended the Lauren-Connie (or LoCo, if you will) bond.

Junior and Senior years seem like they passed in a blur. Whether that’s because we both turned 21 or because we both were highly involved in extra-curricular activities, I’ll never know. Connie was dedicated to Student Ambassadors and I to the CU Independent. We developed our own separate groups of friends, but remained as close as ever.

Despite her klutziness, including her innate ability to run into every single door in the house, she has brought so much positivity to my life.

Junior Year

We always joked about how we would live together forever and how we could never imagine living with anyone else. Now, our paths have led us in different directions. Connie landed a position at a recruiting firm in Denver and is moving to Westminster, and I am going to chase my dreams in San Francisco. While this separation may seem scary now, I know we will remain friends – sisters – forever.

Connie,

We have always been there to lift each other up and make sure that every day is filled with smiles. I will miss you coming into my bedroom while getting ready and sitting in front of my mirror to do your makeup so we could get ready together. I will miss my fashion coordinator and one of the very few people I can tolerate shopping with for hours.

I will miss singing at the top of our lungs to Britney Spears. I will miss our bathroom talks. I will miss napping on our couches (even though they were peed on. Twice.). I will miss walking down to Pearl St. I will staying up ‘til all hours of the night talking about nothing and everything at the same time.

I will miss your sneezing every morning.

I will miss our shopping sprees. I will miss cooking with you. I will miss how you never fail to brighten up a room. I will miss always thinking the same thing at the same time, looking at each other, and just knowing. I will miss our late night Wendy’s runs.

Connie, I will miss a lot about being your roommate.

I am so proud of you an all you have accomplished throughout the last four years. We have gone through a lot together. Truly grown up together. I have watched you flourish into a compassionate, conservative, young woman that truly respects herself and others around her. I will always admire your strength and determination. I know you will do great things in life, no matter what it throws your way.

Remember to breathe every once in a while. Take time for yourself. You’re never too old for anything. Ever. Do what makes you happy no matter the cost. Cherish your relationship with Tim. Be patient with your family – they only stress you out because they care about you. Follow your dreams and your heart, no matter where they take you. And know you will always have a home here, or anywhere I am.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.”

If that’s true, I hope you weren’t wearing heels. 🙂

I love you Connie, and I will truly cherish every moment we spent together – the good and the bad. And I know we will be friends for life. You mean the world to me.

And always remember, I have pepper spray and you have a rape whistle – together we are invincible!

I Love You!