Victoria GricksIt was a typical Friday afternoon: Class just ended and I had a lot to do before leaving for Holiday Valley. Knowing that, I grabbed my things and rushed out of Hirt, because there was no time to waste.

Walking slightly faster than usual, I made my way to Egan. I kept my head down and pretended to text on my cell phone, because I didn’t want to get stuck having to talk to anyone. Don’t judge me – I was in a hurry.

After a minute or two, I had already reached it to the windows of the cafeteria. A glance through them told me that it was busy. I didn’t worry, though, because I planned on doing takeout.

I started to get antsy as I waited behind the crowd of people in line, but it only took a few minutes for it to be my turn. Once my card had been swiped and the clear boxes were in my hands, I took off.

I’m pretty sure I beat the record for least amount of time spent in the cafeteria during the lunch rush. I mean, it took me less than 10 minutes to get two sandwiches and a salad. Crazy, I know.

Once I was done, I left for Warde. I thought I deserved a little break for getting in and out of Egan so fast, so I took my time going back.

When I got to the building, I took the elevator to the fourth floor. Somehow, I managed to swipe my card to unlock the doors to my wing without dropping anything. And don’t ask me how, but I was just as successful with unlocking the door to my room.

I literally took two steps inside when I noticed my friend’s Nike shoes on the floor. (I had asked her earlier in the day if I could wear them later. She told me she was going to take them home, but she changed her mind.)

With a smile on my face, I strolled over to my bed and set all of my belongings on top of it. I took my salad out of the plastic bag I had used to carry it home, but just as I was about to begin eating, I decided to wash my hands.

Once I was done and started drying them, I noticed some writing on the mirror above the sink. After reading it, I laughed – my roommate had left me a note before leaving for the weekend.

You may be wondering why I am telling you all of this information, so here we go.

You would never be able to guess it, but there was a point when my roommate and I didn’t get along. Besides when we had to, I’m pretty sure we didn’t talk to each other for a week or so.

As time went on, however, I realized that I couldn’t live like that, so we talked about the tension between us. Well, that was the greatest decision I could have made, because ever since then, we’ve been the best of friends.

So here comes my advice for the week. You’re in college now, and that means that you have to start growing up a bit. Not everyone in this world is going to be exactly like you or share your opinion on certain issues. But this is a good thing. Can you imagine what life would be like if everyone was the same? I’ll tell you. It would be boring!

For once, try a little harder at accepting others and embracing the differences between you. Sure, you aren’t going to get along with everyone you meet. Oh well. It makes life interesting.