Points of Departure: The Hand Behind Our Friendship
Allison Cohen and Jennifer Bernard
In the video above, Allison Cohen (CGS’09, SMG’11) and Jennifer Bernard (CGS’09, COM’11) talk about a mistake that made them close friends.
Allison Cohen and Jennifer Bernard’s friendship began, as so many do, with the help of the internet. Four years ago, the two met online after joining BU’s Class of 2011 Facebook group, where they were searching for potential roommates. It’s still a matter of debate who contacted whom first. “I swear I never messaged her because that would have been creepy,” insists Bernard. After numerous discussions where Cohen and Bernard learned more about each other, they decided to become roommates.
So it came as a shock when Bernard discovered she had instead been placed in a triple with two complete strangers. It turns out, Cohen recalls, “I never hit submit on my roommate request form.”
Despite their attempts to rectify their mistake, Cohen and Bernard never wound up as roommates, but destiny—or coincidence—brought them together anyway. “Luckily, after the chaos of freshman move-in, we realized that we were living next door to each other,” says Cohen.
The two floor mates quickly became close friends—something they admit may not have happened had they actually become roommates.
“As freshmen, living can be stressful and roommate conflict is inevitable,” says Cohen. “We always wonder what would have happened if I had hit submit. It is always the little mistakes that have the biggest impact.”
“As friends, it worked out perfectly,” says Bernard.
Alan Wong can be reached at alanwong@bu.edu.
Additional editing by Chris Maggio.
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