This Email from a UCLA Freshman to her Future Roommates is Batshit Crazy
Signing up for random roommates when you're a freshman in college is always a gamble. Not only are you both trying to get your shit together without your parents' help for the first time ever, but you've got to do it under the same roof of someone whose hygiene habits and personality quirks are unbeknownst to you. This sort of arrangement can evolve into one of two things:
- A lifelong friendship based on mutual respect and interests that probably leads to being maid of honor in each other's weddings; or
- A short-lived but terrifying standoff based on immaturity and passive aggression that probably leads to at least one restraining order.
Seventeen-year-old Winnie Chen, unfortunately, wound up with the latter.
Winnie, 18-year-old Guistinna Tun, and a girl named Ashly are incoming University of California, Los Angeles freshman who had been assigned roommates.
Apparently, Ashly sent an email to Winnie and Guistinna on August 30, and when the two girls didn't respond to her by September 1 (that's two days after the original email), Ashly sent them both this dramatic message:
The kicker: They had never met before. NOT ONCE.
The email reads,
"Okay, so I'm not sure why neither of you responded back to my emails, but I don't really care just as long as you both know this and understand that I'm not gonna settle for anything less than what I'm gonna tell you that I'm gonna get once I arrive in the dorm. I'll take the top bunk of the bunk bed that has a bottom and top bunk. I DO NOT want the single bunk where it has a desk underneath the top bunk so don't try to leave me with that. I'm also taking one of the white closets. There should be two white closets and I'm taking one of them. I don't care for which one it is, just know I'm taking one of them.
I want the desk that's near the window. Plain and simple. I don't care about who gets the bottom bunk but just know what I stated above is what I'm expecting once I arrive at the dorm and I won't be in the mood for any arguing or other nonsense because one of you two decided to deliberately disregard this email. If needed be I'll turn it into a bigger situation so don't try me.
Sorry but not that sorry for the attitude. I don't like being ignored because that's just rude but that's what you both decided to do so I decided to make it clear now on the kind of person I am and what I will and will not take.
So as a final reminder: I am getting the top bunk of the bunk bed with the bed on the bottom, I am getting one of the white closets, and I'm getting the desk near the window. That's fair enough to ask for considering that I'm giving up fighting for the bottom bunk."
Ashley... girl... you OK?
According to Winnie, Guistinna took one for the team and sent an appropriately snarky response back to Ashly.
"I am not going to allow anyone to talk to me or Winnie like that. You said 'don't try me,' but you ended up trying me. So, here I am," she wrote. "I'd understand if you would want to change your roommates after reading this email, because honestly, that is how me and Winnie felt after reading yours. But if you're willing to work this out and start over, then so are we."
Of course, Ms. Top-Bunk-of-the-Bunk-Bed-That-Has-a-Bottom-and-Top-Bunk had to have the last word.
"I'm not looking to find other roommates either ... but as you can see from my previous email, I am like a ticking time bomb that sets off when certain things I don't like happen to me. I went far with my assumptions that you both were ignoring me, but I wasn't 'playing victim,' " she wrote.
Ooooookay then.
Winnie wrote on Twitter that she's since submitted a request to UCLA Housing to switch roommates, but as of last week, she hasn't gotten a response.
Good luck out there, Winnie.
