The silent treatment I gave my struggling roommate haunts me
I gotta get this off my chest because it's one of those things we don't talk about enough. My roommate, he started closing off, skipping our usual pizza nights, and I just figured he was in a funk. You know how it goes, life gets hectic and you mind your own business. But then I noticed his trash full of empty energy drink cans and he stopped answering texts. It hit me later he was drowning in stress and I was too scared to ask if he was okay. When he finally broke down, he said my silence felt like I didn't care, which crushed me. Looking back, I wish I had just knocked on his door and said, 'Hey, what's up?' even if it was awkward. So take it from me, don't let the fear of a hard chat stop you from reaching out, because people hide their battles. A simple check-in might be the rope they need to climb out.