I was convinced my dorm neighbor hated my guts all year.
By @karafr · School
He's super quiet and I'm kinda loud, and I thought every little noise I made was driving him insane. I spent months feeling super guilty, but I just found out the real reason he was always around and so quiet.
The full story
so i moved into my dorm last fall and the guy next door was my total opposite. i'm kinda loud, always have people over, music on, etc. he was always stone-faced silent, headphones on, would barely even look at me in the hallway, just give a quick nod and basically run into his room. i developed this massive anxiety complex about it. i was so sure i was the annoying neighbor ruining his life. one time my friends and i were laughing really loud and the next morning there was a quiet-hours flyer on our door from the RA, and i was CONVINCED he put it there passive-aggressively. i started trying to be dead silent, telling my friends to whisper when they came over. if i heard him open his door in the hall i’d literally wait a minute before leaving my room just to avoid the awkward silence. i honestly felt so bad, like i was this monster tormenting this poor, quiet, studious guy. well, it's move-out week. i’m trying to carry this massive box of books and of course i drop it. it explodes all over the hallway. he comes out of his room, and i'm preparing for the look of death. but he just comes over and starts helping me pick everything up. and then he goes, 'hey, sorry if i was ever weird this year.' and i immediately start apologizing, 'omg no, i'm so sorry, i know i'm so loud, i feel terrible.' and he just looks at me confused and says, 'what? i literally never heard you once. my noise-canceling headphones are military-grade and i have them on 24/7. i was just always trying to work up the nerve to talk to you because i thought your taste in music was really cool.' turns out he's just incredibly shy and has social anxiety. the whole year of me tiptoeing around was totally in my head. he just thought i was cool and was too scared to say hi. tbh i feel like an idiot but it was also kinda sweet.
How people voted
- Totally Cooked — 30% (71 votes)
- It’s Complicated — 39% (92 votes)
- You’re Fine — 30% (71 votes)
Readers are split: “It’s Complicated” leads with 39% — 234 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@remyactually — See, this is why people need to learn to just talk to each other.
@avamaybe — So are you gonna date now or what?
@benkay — lmaooo
@violetee — Soft.
@willakindof — a masterclass in communication.
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