My College Roommate Became A Close Friend. Then I Started To Develop Feelings — And Didn't Know How To Tell Her.

For those who haven’t heard it, a “U-Haul Lesbian” is an old term based on the joke/stereotype that queer women go from one date to rapidly moving in together. I must have set some kind of record, because I was already living with my girlfriend, Taryn, when we started dating.

I was nervous to meet the four random dormmates I was assigned to live with when I returned from studying abroad in Hong Kong. My first-year roommate experience had been a nightmare, so I started to panic when I couldn’t find any of the girls on social media, which seemed like a huge red flag.

I asked around, and finally, a friend said the magic words, “I know Taryn! She’s so sweet, I think you’ll love her.” We had no idea how true those words would be.

I didn’t expect to have a romantic interest in Taryn. The day I met her, in fact, I had just arrived back in Savannah with two suitcases and bruised lips from kissing a boy — what turned out to be the last time I ever did so.

She stood in the doorway of her room across the entire living space from mine. We exchanged pleasantries, and her skater-girl look and undercut with short curls made me wonder if she was a lesbian. It was a little bit thrilling because I didn’t know -know many queer women at the time.

It doesn’t take a genius to wonder why I felt that way. I was already having suspicions about my own sexuality. Taryn’s appearance intrigued me, not only because I suspected she was queer but because it looked so effortless on her. Whether I knew I was a lesbian or not, I wished I felt effortless, too.

Over the next few weeks, we got to know each other and our other two roommates, Jordan and Maggie, over late-night pots of coffee, school projects, and birthday celebrations. I turned 20, and