Hi, I’m Reed.

 This was the first line of my roommate Facebook post, life ad, dating profile, or whatever you may call it.

  I’ve never been more stressed about any high school writing assignment as I was for the 100-word blurb I posted about myself on Facebook in the search for a potential roommate for my freshman year at North Carolina State University.

  Before any in-school writing assignment, I would research the topic. So it would only make sense that I read a few of the other students posts before writing my own.

  I immediately found common themes: coffee and the gym. Every girl seemed to be looking for a coffee and gym buddy.  Is this all we really look for in other people? Someone who will get the same double shot, iced, soy, low fat mocha-latte?

  Although I knew people put their best foot forward on posts for roommates, I didn’t think the posts would seem so artificial.

  Not only that, but they all seemed to follow a general format. The posts read as if i each person had been filling in an Adlib. ‘Insert your name, major, and favorite Netflix TV shows here.’

  What could be more important than the written portion? The pictures. The awful truth is that if other people aren’t impressed by your pictures, they aren’t going to message you.

  The pictures have to make the cut. They have to capture how attentive yet nonchalant, fun yet dedicated, scholarly yet not too scholarly, and attractive yet not intimidating you are.

  I say attractive because let’s be honest, physical appearance matters to the human species more than it should.

  If someone was attracted to both your pictures and post, then he/she would make it to the next round–sudden death.

  In this round of the roommate hunting phenomenon, two individuals text each other as if they were about to date. This is the get to know you portion.

 This round can end dirtily.  After all you can only choose one. The rest will be involved in a swift, but friendly breakup.