Maya and Madi’s DePaul Housing Story
Welcome to a special DeBlogs Housing Feature! Recently, I sat down with two DePaul seniors to talk about their housing story. In many ways, Maya and Madi exemplify the curious, collaborative, and big-hearted character of many DePaul students, so I know they’d have an excellent story. Let’s get to the interview!
Recruitment Marketing & Communications, Samuel Levit (SL): Thanks for sitting down with me today! First, would you two introduce yourselves?
Madi B. (MB): I’m Madi, I’m a senior majoring in Political Science and Philosophy, minoring in Creative Writing and Classical Studies.
Maya H. (MH): And I’m Maya, I’m also a senior majoring in Neuroscience, minoring in Biology and Entrepreneurship.
(SL): So—your housing story. How did you two meet?
(MH): We actually met in our sophomore year. I had previously met a roommate through one of my classes, and when she and I got assigned a three bedroom apartment, we thought we would just have a spare room. And then we showed up and Madi was there.
(MB): Yeah I was a random roommate. I didn’t know anybody coming to DePaul. I picked the apartment that I wanted, and I happened to select the same apartment as Maya so we met on move-in day.
(MH): Madi brought so much stuff with her when we moved in, so we were very grateful for her.
(SL): What kind of stuff did you bring?
(MH): I brought supplies that you would need to live in an apartment and you brought the funny stuff.
(MB): I brought the coffee machine! Which made me the best roommate.
(SL): Before you came to DePaul, did you think about what your college roommate experience would be like?
(MB): I was really nervous about living in a freshman-style dorm. I’m kind of a homebody, I like to be at home or do all my homework at home and that sort of thing. So I was very nervous that I’d get an insufferable roommate. (Laughs) But it ended up being really, really good because Maya and I like each other. The living room in our apartment basically turned into “apartment meeting space”–every time someone came home from school, we’d be like “alright, sit down, update me about your day.”
(MH): I didn’t really think about having a roommate at all before coming to DePaul. And now we live off-campus together.
(SL): What’s it been like furnishing your own space?
(MB): We couldn’t be more opposite in our styles. Maya has a very cohesive aesthetic and she cares a lot about the walls matching the furniture and that sort of thing.
(MH): I worked at an interior design firm my first year out of high school, so I just kind of planned out the whole apartment—and Madi got some creative input.
(MB): I brought everything in our apartment that is turquoise. (Pointing to the coffee maker.)
(SL): It’s a lovely shade. I know that you two like living together, so I’m curious—what are the main things you have in common?
(MB): I definitely think we’re both homebodies. We’re going to have a very nice couch, the apartment is going to be organized in a way that works for us, etc. In our first off-campus apartment I think we re-arranged our apartment like six times. We both equally care about that sort of thing.
(MH): I wouldn’t say we have a lot of crossover in our interests, but we always have fun when we go out and do stuff together. We both like food a lot, though. So we go to restaurants together.
(MB): We’re kind of opposites in that Maya loves to cook and me… not so much.
(MH): I feel like we have a very similar work ethic. Madi’s Pre-law and I’m Pre-med. We do a lot around schoolwork and I feel like that’s been helpful too. We’re both busy but we also can coexist.
(SL): You obviously study very different things, but I’m curious if you have found any overlap in what you’re studying.
(MH): We actually have taken multiple classes together. Madi’s a Philosophy minor and I love taking philosophy classes, so we’ll end up talking philosophy sometimes.
(MB): I made her take one of my upper level classes with me.
(MH): Metaphysics.
(MB): Yeah, Metaphysics!
(MH): I never get to see Madi in school and it ended up being really fun. It was like an insane crossover episode.
(MB): Now it’s my job to take a neuroscience class before I graduate.
(MH): We gotta get you in Behavioral Neuro.
(MB): Yeah…
(SL): Wait, tell me more about this Metaphysics class!
(MB): Maya needed a philosophy credit and I was going to take this Metaphysics class with a professor that I loved and I was like, “Oh, I know the guy who’s teaching this class. Email him and tell him that you’re my friend, we’re going to get you in this class no matter what.”
(MH): I had taken Neuroethics before, but metaphysics as a field is more about thinking about reality and how we define it. I did some research and found out that it’s an interesting topic in medicine because so much of medical ethics is based around defining what a person is, when they stop being one, and how we draw that line from a medical and cognitive standpoint. I found it really fun to study.
(SL): You two seem very complementary. You’re doing different things, academically or in how you put the apartment together, but they kind of fit well together. So to wrap up: Is there anything that each of you has learned from the other person?
(MH): I feel like I’ve learned to just kind of do my own thing from Madi. She has very niche interests and she’s very much the type of person who’s just going to go out and enjoy what she likes. Madi is the type of person who doesn’t let her environment hold her back. It’s been a cool experience to realize from her that I can just do whatever I want and I can go do things by myself.
(MB): I feel like I learned the opposite from Maya. When I first came to DePaul, I went from my room to class to the dining hall and then back to my room. I was very overly cautious about my time. After living with Maya for a while, I decided that I was going to start going out and join other clubs and get more involved on campus. Because of Maya, sophomore year was when I started to get more social. My life has certainly improved.
(SL): You love to hear it. Thank you both so much for taking the time to chat today!
(MH): Of course! Thank you.
(MB): Take care!