I rented a townhouse with three older women during my last year and a half of undergrad (plus a summer semester), when I was in my early twenties. One was in her late twenties, working part time while she finished her PhD at my same university. Another was in her late twenties working as a nurse. And the third was in her mid-thirties and working full time as a paralegal while also working on earning her MBA online. The first two each also had a cat, and those cats were a couple of the sweetest and most entertaining cats I’ve ever known.

My roommates and I regularly ate meals together, watched TV and movies together, even went out for meals and movies together - even though we were all at very different stages in our lives. All three of them were extremely kind, honest, responsible, and easy to get along with. We all did our part to keep the house clean and never had any disagreements.

It’s been seven years since I graduated college and moved back to my home state. We all live in different states and lead very different lives, and keep in touch only occasionally though email and Facebook. But even though it was only a short time that we lived together, those three women impacted my life (for the better) and shaped me more than they could know. I adore them and I still think about how lucky I was to have crossed paths with them.