What It's Like to Room With a Sibling

By Alix Vo on August 27, 2015

This is my first year living with my sister. In a dorm room.

The dorm room that we share is equivalent to a hotel room, which means that it’s big enough for the both of us. The only thing we share in the dorm is a TV, the kitchen, and the bathroom.

It’s been years since I’ve last shared a room with my sister; the last time was about 10 years ago and living with her again makes me wonder if it was a good idea.

It’s not that we hate each other; we love each other. We’re close, but we’re not the type of sisters that tell each other our innermost secrets. Even without those secrets to fill up our minds of the other, we still have a bond even Anna and Elsa could be jealous of.

We’ve been in the same space before, occupying her bed while we’re watching movies or talking. But the reason we had separate rooms was because we couldn’t stand to share a room with each other. At the time, sharing a room meant sharing the drawers, the closet, sometimes clothes and even things. When you’ve shared everything your entire life, you tend to want something of your own you can call yours.

Our parents were the ones who suggested we room together since it was easier to drive everywhere, we can share food without having a roommate eat it, and we know each other so it wouldn’t be like learning a new person’s habits. Realizing that they might be right, we went ahead with it.

Still feeling like I’m giving up the opportunity to meet a new person, I decide to look up if other people were rooming with their siblings and how they felt about it. One article I found mentioned that it might’ve been a good thing for siblings to share space because it teaches them how to live with another person as well as a cheap alternative to living alone.

It’s not without its downsides, however, since even siblings still get in fights, despite knowing each other pretty well. We argue over who does the dishes, who should clean the toilet, and who should take out the trash. But we communicate and after all is said and done, it’s not difficult to deal with.

I’ve come to terms with having to live with my sister after discovering that there were other people who did the same thing. I’ve always feared that because I’m with my sister almost all the time, I wouldn’t be able to find a niche away from her and I’d depend on her to be there for me all the time.

I’m looking forward to our year together, because not only do I have a roommate, I have a living buddy I can always depend on.

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