Welcome to our House

“Welcome to our house. We eat, sleep, talk and play. We clean, cook, argue and make up. We share traditions and break the rules. This is our home.” – anonymous

Now I have to say, I’ve been extremely lucky with my housemates, but our time spent together this year has been bittersweet; on one hand, it’s just as it always has been – so much fun. But on the other it’s tinged with that sadness that in six months we’ll be moving out and back to our hometowns, never living together again.

This week our old housemate Sam came back to visit us, he told no one he was coming and just showed up on our doorstep, flowers in hand and it made me think about how these people I’ve shared some of the best times with the past three years are now like family – and without them I’ll be pretty lost.

It’s not just about having lived with them, because you can live with anyone. But they’ve been there for my when I’m feeling ill, when I’m fed up and they even put up with me during my hyper half hours (and take it from me that’s hard!) Numerous times they’ve put me to bed when I’m blind drunk, brought me water the morning after and offered to buy me a drink that night because I spent all my money. These are all things that they do, not because we are just housemates, but because we love each other.

Nathan is your go-to guy for a laugh; forever cracking a new joke left right and centre, he works the hardest out of us all but he’s always up for a trip to the pub. Hannah is the baby of the group but this doesn’t mean she hasn’t lived hard! She’s a great partner in crime and if you’ve got a technical problem she’ll most probably know how to fix it. Harry, Hannah’s boyfriend is the nicest guy you’ll meet, he can rock a guitar, makes a mean cup of tea and he never moans about driving us around. Sam is an absolute gem, he’ll happily lounge around with you playing video games or listening to music, but he also loves going out and exploring. And me? Well you’d have to ask them! Although they’d probably say I’m an obsessive compulsive cleaner and serial tidier  – I can live with that.

I’m just extremely jealous of everyone who will get to live with these guys in the future. I can only hope that in six months time when I wave goodbye to Bristol, that I’m not also waving goodbye to them.

By Talia Maguire