Having a roommate is a lot like living with a sibling. You see them at their worst, and they see the same of you. Just as interfamilial relationships can differ immensely, so can roommate relations.

Not much can prepare incoming freshmen for what it will be like to live five feet from a stranger. After all that is what they are, a stranger. No matter how much you think you know about your roommate going into the year, spending morning, noon and night together will tell you things about each other that no one else knows.

I lucked out with my roommate, Chad. We got along as well as roommates could and became friends over the course of the year. Not all relationships panned out this way; yet this is also not what all students were looking for in a roommate. While my roommate and I stayed up to date on each other’s lives and developed the same friend group, I knew just as many pairs that hardly spoke and happily lead completely separate lives.

“22 Jump Street” debuted this summer with Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill starring as cops going undercover as college roommates. Although they had previous experience living together in “21 Jump Street” and have known each other since high school, the movie displays the trials two people can experience when put in these circumstances despite any prior knowledge of one another. In one scene, the pair unintentionally undergoes counseling, which ends up bringing conflicting emotions to the surface.

The film, although it is a comedy, illustrates some real problems college students face during their freshman year and beyond. Most kids have their own room by senior year of high school and have forgotten the daily experience of living with another person. No matter how honest you think you are being on that CHARMS application, chances are you have no idea what time you’ll actually be going to bed, how often you’ll have friends over, and so on.

The beauty, and also the beast, of college is that plans are made in an instant and can change on a dime. Having a roommate means sharing a room 24/7 and there will be times when both of you want it to yourself. This negotiation process is something that everyone goes through and must continuously do throughout the year in order to maintain a healthy relationship. At times it will feel like they are always there, and, they are probably thinking the exact same thing as you.

Most people, myself included, would recommend against rooming with someone that you were friends with before for the reason that it limits you. As years pass, you will come to realize that you cut off potential friendships just because of whom you roomed with.

A new roommate carries the possibility of opening so many doors. Not to mention that a previous friendship can go sour quickly because the two of you are not used to each other in that capacity or setting. Take one walk around your floor at the beginning of the year and I promise you it will be extremely obvious who used CHARMS and who went random.

Having a roommate is a trademark of the college experience; one that will leave you with countless stories for years to come. Like any relationship, communication is key and there are bound to be awkward moments that in your wildest dreams, you could never have imagined. I have learned that there is no how-to book on how to be a roommate, it’s just a lot of trial and error, very late nights, few early mornings, tons of laughing and, of course, many shenanigans.

Justin Kotwicki is a rising sophomore in the College. Getting Talks appears every other Wednesday at thehoya.com.