Over winter break, I realized that it was finally time to put myself out there on the Point Park University Class of 2029 Instagram page. I curated a short bio about myself, stating my interests and hobbies, and a few days after hitting “post,” I finally got a response back from someone.

It was a message from a girl named Lorna Werner, and we hit it off immediately. After a week of messaging back and forth, we knew that we were meant to be roommates. However, one quality that Lorna was looking for in a roommate was that they would have to get along with her cat, Kyla. It was nonnegotiable that, when Lorna came to college, Kyla would be right by her side as her emotional support animal (ESA).

Growing up, my family and I have always considered ourselves “dog people,” but when I found out Lorna was bringing her cat to Point Park, I thought to myself that it might be a nice change to live with a cat.

Senior year of high school was finally over for both of us, and we attended each other’s graduation parties. Our parents started to get to know one another, and as time went on, it became more evident that we were meant to be roommates.

As summer went on, I began to feel anxious about my room assignment, since all of my high school friends who were going to other colleges already knew which dorm they would be staying in and who their official roommates would be.

Toward the end of July, my mom and I started to shop for everything I would need for my dorm. One day, we went to Ross Park Mall, and as we were checking out at Urban Outfitters, I got a notification from the freshman group chat that room assignments were out. I quickly logged onto Point Web only to be greeted with disappointment.

The page indicated that I would be staying in “Hotel 1,” and my roommate was not Lorna, even though I requested for us to dorm together. Tears filled my eyes as I ran out of the store and sat by Auntie Anne’s. I texted Lorna immediately to tell her the bad news. Once she saw my message, she was more startled than I was. She was also assigned to a dorm in the hotel and a random roommate.

“Accessibility told me to make sure that my roommate was completely fine with the whole Kyla situation,” she said. “We don’t even know if the hotel will accept emotional support animals.”

I tried to calm Lorna down, and I realized that I didn’t even know what hotel we would be living in. My mom came out of the store and asked me what was wrong. I broke the news to her, and she was outraged.

For the next couple of weeks, Lorna and I tried to keep our heads held high as we speculated what hotel we would be staying in. We also researched whether or not these hotels allowed ESAs.

Lorna contacted Student Life about the fact that she was not assigned a roommate who would be okay with Kyla (AKA me). Student Life replied, stating that they never obtained confirmation from Accessibility about her having an ESA, even though Lorna went through the entire process of getting Kyla approved. After this error was acknowledged, Student Life flipped around our roommates, and I was officially dorming with Lorna and Kyla.

Finally, on August 8, just shy of a week from when I was supposed to move in, we received an email from Student Life mentioning that we would be staying in the Wyndham Grand. We felt an inkling of relief knowing this information, but we still had several important questions left unanswered.

We still did not know our official move-in dates, what exact furnishings we would need for our dorm, and most importantly, whether or not the hotel would allow ESAs. The weekend before I was supposed to move in, my mom and I were constantly leaving voicemail messages for Student Life.

On Monday, I finally received some good news. Maria Ochoa, director of residence life, sent an email to Lorna and me stating that the Wyndham Grand would not allow ESAs and that we would be moved to Lawrence Hall. Ochoa also mentioned that maintenance would check to see if an air conditioner could be installed in our room.

While I was grateful to have this information, I still wondered why this issue had arisen in the first place. If there was more communication between Student Life and Accessibility, then we would not have worried this much. College move-in is stressful enough for freshmen, and I would think people on both ends of the issue would know that.

That same day, my mom and I were finally able to reach someone at Student Life to ask about my official move-in date. With Honors Orientation being less than a week away, I needed more answers. The person I spoke with told me that I could choose between August 16 and 17. I chose the latter because with so little information about what I would actually need for my dorm, I needed as much time as I could to get ready. I also had to choose a time slot, and because most students had already gone through this process, the options for slots were sparse. The one I chose only gave me three hours to move in before I had to attend a dinner for Honors Orientation.

With little time to prepare, Lorna’s family and mine tried our best to help us with last-minute packing and moving everything into our dorm. Move-in day went a lot smoother than we had expected, and I felt excited about starting this new chapter with Lorna.

Now, Lorna and I are starting to adjust to college life, but we still cannot say that we are happy with our experience with Accessibility and Student Life. It was a hassle leaving multiple voicemail messages, telling upperclassmen about our situation and constantly worrying about our unanswered questions.

Nevertheless, living with an ESA has been great, and I loved getting to know Kyla more every single day. Having Kyla has also helped Lorna and I make many new friends. Thank you to everyone who has stopped by to meet her.

Lorna and I are excited for our new journey here at Point Park University, and we are glad that Kyla will be here for us every step of the way.