Taylor and I met at St. Thomas and have been inseparable ever since. We immediately bonded over our love of dogs, Mexican food, Disney and pop music. In fact, we are so close that we each had an appendectomy 8 months apart. Some of my favorite memories with Taylor include attending community theater productions, filling our cups to the top with frozen yogurt (mostly toppings), pushing couches together to watch Free Willy next to each other and making up dances to One Direction songs while "working" intramural games. Taylor is my go-to girl, my sound board, my rock. Talk to Taylor about: seeing the Dalai Lama, scalping Taylor Swift tickets and teeter tottering for charity at 3am.

Tom has known John all of his life. The two are practically brothers. While the relationship has ebbed and flowed in the past, John and Tom have continued to grow closer over the years, finding shared interests in sports, movies, good beers and better friends. Tom is John's go-to person to just call on the phone, no matter the topic or time, as Tom is always the most willing to chat and talk about life. Talk to Tom about: History, the EPL (Liverpool), '90 Day Fiance', and where he has all lived over the last 3 years...

You can say destiny was involved when Marysa and I were paired together as roommates sophomore year of college. We didn't know each other, but of the four roommates that year, we were both the introverts spending many nights in our room. One morning I heard the Psych theme song coming from her laptop, and that was how we found out we shared the same favorite show. That show, paired with her R2-D2 trash can and a mutual love of spending Saturday nights in, allowed us to quickly become best friends. She took me to my first Badger football game and only slightly laughed when I teared up during Jump Around. Marysa is my emotional support, my therapist when I need to rant, and someone I can count on to always be there no matter how far she wants to move away from me. Talk to Marysa about: the Packers, traveling the U.S. in her van, and the song Kernkraft 400.

Dillon and John have been best friends since they were 5 years old, and growing up in the same neighborhood, the Kaups and Atkins quickly adopted each other's boys into their families. Whether it was sports, camps or trips, Dillon and John always wanted to do things together. They both went to the U of M and upon graduation, lived with each other for 4 years until Dillon left John to move to CA. John still considers Dillon the "perfect roommate" (sorry Lindsay!). Talk to Dillon about: Snorkeling, Cali life, Survivor, your HVAC systems, or his favorite Halloween costume.

Sarah and I met the day I moved in with my friends Zack and Brian back in 2016. She came bounding into my new room, talking a mile a minute with her laughter-filled voice, and we've been friends ever since. Through that Summer full of sand volleyball, Pokémon Go and breweries, we became even closer. She's a great travel companion, like on our trips to Vegas, Mexico, and Lutsen. She's always supportive when margaritas at 9am are suggested! Talk to Sarah about: her love of Mr. 305, how she "won" her goldendoodle, and how much fun drag brunches can be.

John's first weekend of college, Zach spent the entire weekend at Troy's apartment - to the point that John thought Zach actually transferred to the U of M. It was the first of many weekends where John and Zach would find numerous mutual interests - sports, music, movies, shows, etc. Zach is an optimist, even with MN sports, which is much needed to offset John's pessimistic sports attitude, especially at Vikings games in the "Party Palace". John is extremely grateful that Zach and the Pate's have welcomed him to family events and the cabin. Talk to Zach about: Anything - literally anything and Zach will be interested. Zach especially loves movies and Kayne West.

John's younger, smarter, more athletic sister (her words). John thinks Katie is one of the wittiest and funniest people he knows, whether Kate is intentionally being funny or not. Katie has also been John's go-to choice for the latest "hip" trends, yet he doesn't always listen to her advice. While John & Katie have always been strong-willed in their stances, Katie & Lindsay have gotten along quite well in their interactions (though sometimes at John's expense). Talk to Katie about: Land O'Lakes butter, golf, the latest "cheugy" trends, or how she can't close the yearbook on her high school athletic accomplishments.

Scene: John's first day of college; Enter: Troy. Having played soccer with Troy growing up, John was invited to a party the first night of college at Troy's apartment. Fun ensued and even though John embarrassed himself that night, Troy invited him back the next day. Troy (and his family) have been stuck with John since. Fortunately for John, the Staples have been nothing but welcoming, especially as he has countlessly invited himself to their events (and on their boat) over the years. Talk to Troy about: Boats, Tools, Pickleball, Ron Diaz, Zillow and Basketball.

When Morgan and I first met in 5th grade, our teacher had placed our desks next to each other and Morgan was not a fan of my chaotic energy. I won her over slowly with my glowing personality (or because all our other friends went to the new elementary school and I was her only option). She likes to hide it, but she was just as rambunctious, so we fit together well. We bonded over our love of Jesse McCartney, my love of cleaning her bedroom while listening to Cheetah Girls, and playing Scattergories with just two people. Being friends for so long, we can go months without seeing each other and pick right back up. I love that we have grown together and now get to celebrate the big moments in our lives. Talk to Morgan about: performing "It's a hard-knock life" from Annie at the 5th grade lock-in, working at the movie theater, and the Magic Dance by Bowie.

Remember when we said the Staples family was stuck with John? We meant STUCK - Tony is Troy's older brother. John and Tony first started becoming better friends through softball, then through their shared interest in country music. Tony decided he liked hanging out with John so much, he'd even get a job at U.S. Bank to join John. This allowed John to instant message Tony every single day for about 2 years, and countless lunches (especially to Dave's) ensued. While John eventually left U.S. Bank, he still tries to find time to message Tony multiple times a week just to ensure he's not forgotten! Talk to Tony about: the Vikings, SCSU, music, Busch Lattes and missing buttons on his shirts.

Technically my cousin, but someone I call my sister. Mary has known me all my life, through babysitting me as a child, driving me to tennis tournaments in junior high, acting as my parent at Homecoming pictures. She has always been there for me. Some of my favorite memories include the past 15 years of Girl's Weekends, our last minute trip to Cabo to surprise family, and the countless amount of times we've seen Little Big Town in concert. Talk to Mary about: beagles, her once in a lifetime hole-in-one, and any quotes from Mean Girls.

Having grown up in the same neighborhood, Elliott has been stuck with John most of his life. This usually involves Elliott outplaying John at every sport, especially at weekly basketball. Elliott is John's go-to for all things sports, Pokemon and generally any topic involving superheroes. Talk to Elliott about: Community, his Fantasy Football success, or how much he loves dogs, especially Wes!

When I think back on the pivotal moment that brought me to where I am, that moment was New Years 2012 when I met Ross. We met studying abroad in London. On the plane ride over, he asked if anyone would be interested in staying up to watch the Badgers play in the Rose Bowl after a late-night 8 hour flight - I immediately said yes! As they say, the rest was history. Over the last 10 years we have played together in numerous tennis matches, watched a million Packer and Badger games, and spent so many memorable laughter filled weekends in Lake City. Talk to Ross about: trying all the flavors of Oreo's, planning for his Covid wedding(s), and Scooby-Doo.

I met Zack in college through Ross. They asked me to join the Intramural staff, which meant we'd all spend many nights together working and bonding over music, sports and hatred of the same annoying intramural players. After college, we played in multiple tennis leagues as double partners and became roommates (along with Brian). He is my tennis tournament buddy, with a couple trips to the U.S. Open and playing in a national qualifier for our tennis team. He encouraged me to join Best Buy knowing it would be a good fit for me (he was right). Zack is one of my closest friends and has helped shape my life and who I am as a person. Talk to Zack about: his inability to disagree with calls made by referees, FloRida music, and all his worldly travels.

You may also recognize Brian as one of my past roommates, but I know him as BFF Brian. He's exactly that, as he is always there to join any activity and bring the laughter and joy! Brian and I moved in together with our mutual friend Zack. We knew of each other, but weren't friends. Wow, did that change quick. Within the first months we bonded over everything: trying new recipes, building a fantasy bracket for the new season of "The Bachelorette", watching hundreds of terrible action movies (usually repetitively), drag brunches (aka drinking bottomless mimosas), and traveling with friends. We lived together so long we bicker like siblings; I'd adopt Brian as my brother any day. If you're feeling down, just text Brian and he will find the best GIF or TikTok to cheer you up. Talk to Brian about: dancing for charity at a drag brunch, his lack of optimism for MN sports, and how many Prince themed sporting events he's unintentionally attended.