Happy Birthday Sassy

College can be rough. The total lack of real responsibility can lead to poor time management skills, which lead to the piling up of tests, papers and projects all at once. Maybe you ate the mystery meat at Ciao Hall. Perhaps you got to class late and were forced to sit in the front row, directly in front the professor with overactive salivary glands, a lisp, and an affinity to start the majority of his words with the letter 'S'. But one of the worst things that can happen to a poor college student is an unfortunate random roommate.

If you get stuck living with someone who just isn't the right fit, there isn't much avoiding them. You share the same small cramped space, and sleep within feet of one another. Maybe they are night owls that keep the lights on when you are sleeping, or they listen to terrible music, or they smell terrible.

Luckily for me, none of those things are the case. I have fantastic roommates. Today is one of my roommate's birthdays. Her name is Sassy. It's not her given name, but it's the name I have given her.

Sassy with the Luigi, Me with the walrus

Sassy and I have come to realize that we are very compatible roommates. We enjoy many of the same things. Good music, good food, Jesus, Mary, the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, you know, the typical stuff.

Sassy teaching me how to live in the communion of saints

There are many things we both enjoy, but perhaps what unites us the most is that we have common enemies: dirty kitchens, tacky decor, the devil, gaining weight, final exams, ugly clothes, people thinking whether or not your clothes are ugly is a subjective matter, and women priests (don't get us started, seriously).

queen of the clean and classy kitchen

tacky clothes--only acceptable at tacky themed parties

We share so many likes and dislikes, but to really think about how great our friendship is, it's marvelous to think about our differences, and how they fit so well.

Like, how I love the English language very much. Despite it's feeble nature, especially when it comes to the word "love", I do my best to abide by its' glorious rules. Sassy on the other hand, has a complete disregard for the rules of grammar and spelling. But we have bonded over proof reading papers, poor texting etiquette and various mispronunciation of words. (It's Valentine, not Valentime, am I right, or am I right?)

Sassy loves to talk about biology. I love to talk about economics. We have been able to share our knowledge. I now know about all sorts of gross viruses and diseases that I will do my best to avoid, and I think she understands that talking about economics at bars doesn't make you any new friends.

my little marathoner

Sassy drinks coffee. I drink tea.

Sassy runs for fun. I do fun things for fun.

Sassy wakes up early. I wake up at the crack of noon.

Sassy drives a little car. I drive a giant boat.

Sassy doesn't read blogs, not even this one. I think that might change.

Sassy hates whipped cream. I enjoy it out of the container.

Sassy loves Jane Austen. I love Roald Dahl.

Sassy can dance. I cannot.



Dearest Sassy, of all the fun times we have had together, my fondest way of knowing you, and how I will always remember you, is as a fellow future saint. Our favorite phrase, one which defines our friendship, is "saints have saints for friends". Even St. Francis had St. Clare.

Not only are we good roommates because of our general enjoyment of cleanliness, but because we build each other up in a way that makes us holier. The goal of our lives is to be saints, and you have helped me realize it is never too soon to start living in the communion of those holy people.

You see the importance of saints for friends, and with all this practice now, think of how much fun it will be when we get there. You're practically a regular with all those cool and holy cats. Thank you for helping me along my way to heaven. You make it really fun.