Of course.

My room isn't too big or fancy, but it's good enough for me and my roommate, Rose. "It's so great to meet you, finally!" she declares, opening her mouth wide and baring both rows of immaculate whites. I wouldn't be so bothered if she wasn't stepping up to hug me right now. That smile is positively predatory, and it freaks me out to have those jaws so close to my face. She's a bit taller, too, maybe around 5'6." Thank God she's cute, blessed with short black wavy hair and round, coffee colored shoulders on top of a generous pair of knockers. Mine are just a tad smaller, I think, but on my little frame they might look more ample.

Rose is very friendly, and I'm sure she's a very nice person overall, but I'm going to need some time to get used to having a close friend, let alone a roommate. I didn't have a lot of friends back home, and I wasn't particularly close to the friends I did have-- I just couldn't. My life ran like clockwork, to the tick-tock of my parents. There just wasn't time to play.

It's pretty clear talking to Rose how different her upbringing was from mine. She grew up in Boston, where her father was a minister and her mother an HR director, and a -Buddhist,- surprisingly. What became of that mix? Well, Rose did, obviously, a free-spirited mix of Caucasian and African American with no religion ever stipulated by her progressive parents. She's also a transfer (psychology major) and first time dormer. I think they usually put the transfer students together.

But then my new roommate starts wondering about me and where I'm from and what I used to do. I clam up as I can't bring myself to speak of the virtual dungeon that I've endured my whole life. Thankfully, she understands.

"Oh, it's okay," she replies, "we've got a whole year to get to know each other."

A whole year...what have I gotten myself into?

"Can you at least tell me your major?" she asks instead.

"Oh, right, my major..." It's not that I never thought about it, but for the longest time I was just concerned with escaping my hometown. I was taking pre-med classes at my old campus, however at the behest of my parents, of course.

I'm free to choose.