Coatracks, roommates and maturity

When I was 9 years old, my parents gave me their old coat rack to use in my bedroom. It was the first time we lived in a house that had a hall closet, and so we didn’t need the rack to serve as storage for winter-wear. I kept it in my room and having it made me feel so grown up, almost as if I was living in my own apartment. I’d wearing my coat all the way upstairs so that I could take it off and hang it on the rack. I remember thinking at that time that the only thing that could make me feel more grown up was if I had my own bathroom.

Ten years later, I became an RA in North Hall and for the first time in my life had my own bathroom. By that time I had mostly forgotten that it had been my marker of adulthood (although it gave me a bit of a thrill nonetheless). By that point, I was fixated on having a kitchen. When I had a kitchen, then I would really feel like a grown up.

Soon after, I got the kitchen, but I had to share it with roommates. At that point I decided that the pinnacle of grown-upness would be to live alone. That way the kitchen and the bathroom would be all mine. While I briefly achieved that self-described marker of adulthood for a brief time when I first lived in Philly, I haven’t lived alone now in more than four years.

Right now I’m at a fork in the roommate road. My current apartment-mate is moving out at the end of June. And given the fact that I am in grad school right now, without much of an income in sight, having someone share the expense of living here is a financial imperative. But I can’t seem to get myself to place the craigslist ad that would start the flow of potential renters.

I don’t actually think about it in terms of being a grown up or not anymore. I recognize that maturity comes from an ability to deal with the facts at hand and make responsible choices. It’s just that I am so tired of sharing space with people in whom I am not invested. However, I know that the mature decision in this situation is to suck it up and post an ad in order to find a roommate. Sadly, that doesn’t stop the nine-year-old inside of me from yelling about how she doesn’t want to. But I will.

Hey, anyone looking for a place to live?

*This is not a rant about my present or past roommates, I’ve actually been very fortunate in the arena and have lived with some really terrific people.

0 thoughts on “Coatracks, roommates and maturity

  1. Alice

    random, but i actually know somebody looking for a place in center city. she’s a med student looking to do research there for the summer, if you need somebody for that period of time- for instance, if you have somebody else who is interested in moving in for the fall. i suppose you can see my email address right? let me know. =P

    Reply
  2. Jessie

    Hi Marisa,

    We met at Scott’s party and I love your blog, though am shy about commenting! I have a friend who is a part-time grad student and full-time employee at Penn who is looking for a place in Center City and maybe a roommate–her apartment has been sold and current roommates are moving out of state for school. I haven’t run it by her, but would be happy to connect the two of you if you’re interested.

    Jessie

    Reply
  3. Jessie

    Aaah! You were in my bulk mail and I deleted you before realizing. Please resend your message as I didn’t read it. Sorry.

    Reply

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