At some point you have got to share the space you have been occupying this whole time. You have got to push aside your boxes to make space for the other person’s. You have got to upgrade your single bed to a double, a queen, or even a king-sized one because you no longer sleep alone. You have got to double the keys or put them under the rug so s/he can still get inside when you are already asleep. You have got to change the message in your answering machine because the incoming message might not be addressed only to you.
It might feel invasive at first, having the comfort zone not only to yourself. It might annoy you that you have to walk tiptoe to the bathroom because s/he is still sound asleep, or that you have to whisper on the phone when it rings at 4a.m., or that you cannot just open the curtain or venetian blinds to let the morning sunshine in when you feel like it, or that you cannot sleep on the same sheets for 3 weeks without changing it.
And then you grow accustomed to his/her presence. You make sure that you don’t occupy too much space on the bed, that you don’t wrap yourself using the blanket and use all the pillows. You make room inside the closet for the clothes and the shoes. You get use to sharing the bathroom during the hectic mornings when both of you wake up late.
S/he might not win the award for ‘The World’s Best Roommate’ because s/he turns on the light when you’re having the best dream ever, or that s/he puts dirty clothes on the bed, or leaving it unmade in the morning. But you know you would not trade your roommate with anyone.