exposition
Time for another essay! Today's assignment was comparison and contrast, and the first topic that popped into my head was me and my roommates. Here it is!
The Bull, The Monkey, and the Olive
Everyone, upon their entry into life as a University student, fills out a questionaire about their likes and dislikes to match them closely to others for the purposes of rooming freshman year. In spite of the extensive matching process, the roommate horror stories abound. People think they have found their soulmate; a month passes, and they realize they have found the one person on Earth that they can never see ever again.
I did not know my roommates freshman year, but I knew no matter what I wanted to try my best to become good friends with them. I knew Shilpa liked boy bands, and Meghan had a long-term boyfriend. That was about as far as our similarities extended. Time passed, and we decided to live together for another year. I learned that next year that Meghan’s taste in music and books resembles mine closely, and that I could depend on Shilpa to share my penchant for late night drives in search of adventurous snack food.
By the time another year had breezed by, it became a generally accepted fact that compared to most roommates of three years our list of common interests was quite brief. Shilpa, an enthusiastic sports fan, majored in film and relished most the hours of deep conversations with close friends late into the night. Meghan, a future CPA with a curious weakness for black olives, was a sensible sort who enjoyed dancing and singing at parties with me; but also enjoyed staying in to get ahead on work and to watch hours of Friends episodes. I, in contrast, am most excited by finding ways to connect with many people through my wide-ranging fields of study, my sorority, and my travels.
We are currently in our fourth year of living together-and next year it is going to be Meghan and me again; Shilpa is venturing off to Chicago to fulfill her dream of a job in sports. Now, as seniors, the three of us know that it is not our superficial interests, or fields of study, or common friends that define us. Rather, what defines our friendship is the extraordinary value placed upon open communication and frankness of expression. Legnthy lists of common interests are not what keep us connected. No, our bond is of a stronger kind. It is our shared willingness to always speak truthfully and openly, in spite of inevitable discomfort and perhaps even pain. It is the common faith in our mutual bond that reinforces the importance of honesty, which exceeds all preconceptions and worries.
The Bull, The Monkey, and the Olive
Everyone, upon their entry into life as a University student, fills out a questionaire about their likes and dislikes to match them closely to others for the purposes of rooming freshman year. In spite of the extensive matching process, the roommate horror stories abound. People think they have found their soulmate; a month passes, and they realize they have found the one person on Earth that they can never see ever again.
I did not know my roommates freshman year, but I knew no matter what I wanted to try my best to become good friends with them. I knew Shilpa liked boy bands, and Meghan had a long-term boyfriend. That was about as far as our similarities extended. Time passed, and we decided to live together for another year. I learned that next year that Meghan’s taste in music and books resembles mine closely, and that I could depend on Shilpa to share my penchant for late night drives in search of adventurous snack food.
By the time another year had breezed by, it became a generally accepted fact that compared to most roommates of three years our list of common interests was quite brief. Shilpa, an enthusiastic sports fan, majored in film and relished most the hours of deep conversations with close friends late into the night. Meghan, a future CPA with a curious weakness for black olives, was a sensible sort who enjoyed dancing and singing at parties with me; but also enjoyed staying in to get ahead on work and to watch hours of Friends episodes. I, in contrast, am most excited by finding ways to connect with many people through my wide-ranging fields of study, my sorority, and my travels.
We are currently in our fourth year of living together-and next year it is going to be Meghan and me again; Shilpa is venturing off to Chicago to fulfill her dream of a job in sports. Now, as seniors, the three of us know that it is not our superficial interests, or fields of study, or common friends that define us. Rather, what defines our friendship is the extraordinary value placed upon open communication and frankness of expression. Legnthy lists of common interests are not what keep us connected. No, our bond is of a stronger kind. It is our shared willingness to always speak truthfully and openly, in spite of inevitable discomfort and perhaps even pain. It is the common faith in our mutual bond that reinforces the importance of honesty, which exceeds all preconceptions and worries.