Meet The Roomies: Ellen

If you know Ellen, you are one lucky ducky. As a matter of face, I met Ellen by luck, too. Ellen and I first met our freshman year at Umich in greek life rush line. Her last name starts with "st" and so does mine, so naturally we were put next to each other. We were two nervous, nerdy, adorable freshman ready to take Ann Arbor my storm. However, I quit rush after the first round (greek life isn't for everyone), and Ellen stuck around to get a bid from Alpha Delta Pi. Although I didn't continue my greek journey, Ellen and I kept in touch, exchanging party clothes and eating lunch together when we could. We started to lose touch just when fate put us back into each others arms. We both needed somewhere to live our junior year, and by chance, our friends formed a group that we were both part of. I couldn't contain my happiness when I found out Ellen and I would be roomies (after all, her last name in my phone is still "rush").

Ellen is a junior in the engineering school at the University of Michigan. She's super smart. She even had this awesome job this summer where she did research on mice and their ovaries! That may have been too much information for you to handle, but I hope it gives you an idea of how cool Ellen (and engineering) is.

As Ellen and I lived at the Stumble Inn together this past summer, we found out we have a lot in common. We both love to paint, work out, eat, eat before we workout, eat after we workout, a passion for interior design, Pinterest, Orange is the New Black, movies, and the list goes on and on. Not only do Ellen and I share interests and passions, but we also have in common life experiences which make it that much more comfortable to be around her, knowing that she understands some of what I have been through in this journey we call life.

Ellen and I were attached at the hip for a lot of the summer, and I truly would have had it no other way (I'm pretty sure much of the ab workout I got this summer was from Ellen making me laugh). One of my favorite memories of the summer with Ellen was when we laid out a blanket on our front lawn one evening, opened our computers, put our headphones in, and separately watched episodes of Orange is the Black. Yes, we are that comfortable with each other that we sat in silence watching the same television show, while people walked by and caught parts of the show's lesbian sex on our computer screens. Oh, college.

If there is anyone in the world I want my children one day to call "Aunty", Ellen is that person. The way she genuinely cares about people and the world is a quality you don't come across everyday. Everything she touches turns to sunshine. She has a way with making you feel better, and she is the kind of person you can be 100% yourself around and feel 100% comfortable. Ellen is studying abroad this semester, and I am truly counting down the days until she returns so she can once again be my partner in crime. If one day you get to meet Ellen, just smile. Because you just became a very lucky ducky yourself.