No one believed that it would actually work out. Everyone said it was a horrible idea. They told us that we would end up hating each other by the end of the year. However, we knew that our friendship could withstand any obstacle. So, when we had to sign our housing contracts, my two best friends and I took a leap of faith, and decided to move in together.

Move-in day eventually came, and I was the first of us to move in. When I opened the door to our room, I was shocked to see how large it was. We somehow found a triple that used to be a quadruple. In essence, we hit the dorm-room jackpot.

Michelle and her family came about 20 minutes after we did. I had always known that Michelle owned a lot of clothes, but I didn’t know exactly how much she owned. What I found out on that first day was that Michelle’s closet was comparable to that of a small retail store.

Our room had one large closet and three smaller ones. It was an obvious choice to let Michelle take the largest one. And, even then, some of her clothes didn’t fit.

Before Michelle had arrived, I had already chosen the middle, corner bed. My whole thought process was: if anyone is going to come in and kill us, they are going to go to the outer beds first. With the middle bed gone, Michelle had to decide between the bed near the window and the bed near the closets. I still don’t know why, but Michelle chose the bed nearest the window.

Let me paint a picture of what Michelle’s sleeping area looks like. At the head of her bed there is a spot where the ceiling juts down. For the first month, Michelle would worry every night about waking up and hitting her head on the ceiling.

Directly below the head of Michelle’s bed lies the radiator, which lets out extremely hot air during the winter months. Needless to say, Michelle rarely ever used her blankets or wore pants to bed.

At the foot of her bed, horizontal pipes ran across it. Every time Michelle would enter or leave her bed, she would have to limbo under these pipes. Point blank: Michelle had it rough.

Michelle also has a bean bag cushion that she sleeps with. She affectionately calls her — Michelle has confirmed that her bean bag is a girl — Beanie. Michelle is so attached to Beanie that she cannot sleep without her. However, Beanie is not nearly as serious about their relationship. She falls off of Michelle’s bed almost every night. Beanie falls in a position in which my arms are the only ones long enough to reach her.

During the first few weeks, I would have to get out of bed, and retrieve Beanie for Michelle. Since then, Michelle has become more at peace with the status of her and Beanie’s relationship, and rarely asks if I can retrieve her.

Taylor has never been an early riser. It didn’t surprise Michelle and me that she and her family didn’t arrive until much later in the day. Fortunately, Taylor is quite easily-pleased, and was content with getting the last choice of beds.

I do not believe that I have ever met anyone who is more agreeable than Taylor. She will agree to almost anything in order to prevent an argument. As someone who enjoys a good argument every once in a while, this frustrated me for a short time. But, I never became angry with Taylor. I mean, how can you be angry with someone who lives to please?

Due to her avoidance of arguments, I did do and say things to Taylor that I would otherwise not do or say to any other roommate. For instance, I have pranked Taylor several times. From putting her bedding in the hallway to hiding her toothpaste in a dirty bath tub in our bathroom, I have pushed our friendship to the limits. However, Taylor always laughs these things off. I am beginning to believe that Taylor cannot get mad. I guess I’ll keep pushing just to find out.

After we moved everything into our dorm, our families left, and Michelle, Taylor, and I stood in the center of the room. At that point, we were officially roommates.

The move-in day was a good indicator of what living with Michelle and Taylor would be like: pretty easy. I think the main reason why our living arrangement has worked as well as it has is because we treasure our friendship over our individual needs and pride.

When you are just friends, you will not know of all the idiosyncrasies your friends have. When you move in with them, you will immediately find out. My advice is to not get too bogged down on these little quirks. More than likely, you have a few too. You may want to call them out on their foibles, but hide your annoyance, put away your pride, and just move on.

Michelle, Taylor and I work hard to preserve our friendship. If one of us did not, our friendship would not be as strong as it currently is. If you decide to live with your best friend, you both need to be committed to maintaining your friendship.

Living with your friends can work, but it can sometimes be hard. However, with the hard work of all involved, you can preserve your friendship. Just remember: you moved in with this person for a reason. If you ever get angry with them, just remember the reasons why you wanted to live with them in the first place.