Gettin’ Carried Away

This is the true story of five girls, picked to live in a New York apartment, to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real… 

The absolute best part of my New York experience was making life-long friendships. My three original roommates were Georgie, Jenny and Natalia. The fourth roomie, Ophelia, came a bit later in late January/early February. There was love, there was laughter and there was plenty of drama. I’m pretty sure that our living arrangements would have made for good TV, especially for the MTV reality series Real World.

My first encounters with Georgie and Jenny were through e-mails. They seemed like really nice girls, and I was very excited to meet them. They were both my age, and we were all pursuing different majors. Georgie was a rambunctious theatre major from Michigan. Jenny was a pysch major and a Yankees fan… from Massachusettes. I knew nothing about Natalia until after I arrived at the apartment in New York. She was a few years older than the rest of us, she was from California and she was an English major, just like me.

Georgie, Jenny and I hit it off right away. We spend our first night together playing cards, eating junk food and just… laughing… A LOT! I knew that we were about to embark on a very special journey together. Natalia was an outsider, but not because we made her feel that way. She rarely spent time in the apartment. And when she did, she acted very condescending and talked to down to us “youngins” quite a bit. We were too loud, too messy, etc. I had even asked her to help me with an essay, and instead, she lectured me about how I obviously had no business being an English major. She was just… unpleasant.

When Ophelia (a Long Island, NY/Cali native) came, we welcomed her with open arms. She was also a little older than us three teenagers, but she fit into our group quite nicely. All of us (minus Natalia) spent countless nights together eating Jobee’s Chinese takeout, watching Sex and the City or One Tree Hill, dancing around the common room or just telling stories about our lives back home. We also spent time out in the city exploring, eating, drinking, etc.

*~ The Fab Four ~*

*~ Ophelia, Me, Georgie, Jenny ~*

Georgie and I went to tons of restaurants and museums. Jenny and I attended a few Yankees games. Ophelia and I worked out at the gym. Whether we stayed in (to save money) or went out (to explore Manhattan), we were usually together and we always had a fun time.

When it was time to move out, all of us (well, most of us) were very sad. Natalia was the first to go. As I said, she excluded herself from lots of activities, which we had always invited her to join in on. After four months, we all knew each other’s class/work schedules pretty well. So while Georgie, Jenny, Ophelia and I were at class or work, Natalia packed up everything and left without saying good bye. She even stole some of our belongings! We just shrugged it off, and remembered that at least we had each other, and that we had the best time in room 1208.

Jenny left with her parents. Then Ophelia and I took Georgie to JFK Airport. My mom had been visiting me the last few days, so she was there to help me move home. Ophelia had to work, so I said good bye earlier that day, after we dropped Georgie at the airport. I was the last one in the apartment. I looked around at the empty walls that were once adorned with posters and Christmas lights. I glanced at the bare couches that used to be covered with cozy blankets. While the apartment looked sad and empty, I reassured myself that a lot of fun was had in 1208, and I knew that the fab four’s presence would always remain in this space.