Encountering one free spirit isn’t necessarily uncommon, but finding three roommates who share the same love for spontaneity and adventure is a rarity.
Senior Connor Housefield and juniors Peter Runey and Morten Hansen all bring unique life experiences and a “you only live once” YOLO mantra to their shared lives as roommates in their apartment off campus in Point Dume, Malibu.
“I’ve had some once-in-a-lifetime opportunities,” Runey said. “I knew it would be foolish to let them pass by.”
All three of the roommates said they’ve had defining moments in their lives before coming to Pepperdine that make up who they are today, and explained how their friendship has fueled their spontaneity.
Adventures Before Pepperdine
Runey’s lifestyle illustrates him as a particularly spontaneous person. During his gap years before Pepperdine, he frequently found himself craving travel and adventure. Runey lived in a van for four months, where he explored the United States and Canada, starting in the Outer Banks, North Carolina, and ending up in Yosemite.
Shortly after his trip around the U.S., Runey said he still felt his heart stirring.
“I could have stayed at home with my parents, but I kinda wanted to do something crazy,” Runey said. “So, I had a little bit of money saved up and I moved to Sicily for a month.”
Runey lived in Sicily with the goal of becoming a local. He didn’t travel, but said he wanted to find community and make a second home in Italy. His goal while living there was to rest before starting at Pepperdine.
Even though he experiences fear sometimes, especially with language barriers and uncertainty, Runey said that getting out of his own head and pushing himself to talk to new people has been influential in accomplishing his goals.
Another one of his goals in Sicily was making friends. He said he didn’t accomplish this until near the end of his month there, but forcing himself to go up to strangers was one of the best things he did for himself.
“In that moment I was standing literally in-between the intersection to see the road that would take me back to my place, and then to my left was this cafe that I loved, and these guys talking,” Runey said. “So I saw my choices physically, and mentally pinched myself to force myself to go talk to them.”
Runey said he now calls some of these guys his best friends, and goes back to visit them whenever he has the chance.
A defining moment in Hansen’s life was when he spontaneously decided to join his high school basketball team. He fell in love with the sport and said it ended up bringing him down a new path.
“Choosing to say yes to something I was slightly skeptical [about] brought me to New York City to play college basketball with people I never would’ve met otherwise,” Hansen said.
Hansen said without moments like this, he never would’ve ended up at Pepperdine, and he is grateful for those decisions where he made the leap and denied his skepticism.
Housefield said he most felt the “YOLO” lifestyle pre-Pepperdine when he began a laughter yoga club in high school. He said it was more than just a club, rather a moment of encouragement to just be himself.
Housefield said a huge part of why he is able to be so spontaneous is because he trusts God will help him through any situation.
Finding Like-Minded Community
Moving to Malibu was Runey’s 18th move in his lifetime. He’s lived across many continents and said moving around so often actually makes his travels easier. After his month-long reset, Runey found himself prepared to take on the new adventure that is Pepperdine, bringing his adventurous spirit with him.
“Malibu is only as fun and beautiful as you are willing to be spontaneous about what she [Malibu] holds,” Runey said. “It is what you make of it and I haven’t gotten sick of it.”
Hansen said he and Runey met at Pepperdine’s transfer student New Student Orientation, where they realized they share many similarities, like their love for food and trying new things. Through Runey, Hansen and Housefield met, where they all grew close with one another and decided to move in together the following year.
Even though the three roommates met only last year, Runey said they all share the same spontaneous desires.
“Mort will walk out of his room and say ‘I’m feeling a drive,’ and I won’t even say anything but throw on a jacket, and maybe not even shoes, and I’m there,” Runey said. “Open-endedness is a key characteristic in our adventures.”
Getting older has allowed Hansen to better appreciate spontaneity and saying yes to random decisions. He said some of his best memories came as a result of being open to whatever comes his way, and he feels appreciation for them.
“I think those two guys [Runey and Housefield] are very spontaneous,” Hansen said. “A big thing that we all do for each other is just keep one another on our toes.”
Hansen said every single day is a new chance for the three of them to embark on a random new journey or to experience something they’ve already done from a new perspective.
“We’re all cognizant of the fact that we all just want each other to have fun,” Hansen said.
Hansen also said he finds joy in the little moments where he thought “there would be monotony,” but it ends up becoming very special and unique.
“It has been a joy sharing this house with those two,” Hansen said.
Housefield said his roommates help him in his spontaneity, recalling a time when the three of them randomly decided to have a big group of friends over, 15 minutes before they even got home.
“It takes conscious effort to be spontaneous,” Housefield said. “So I think it’s easier to have other people, because it’s so much harder to be spontaneous alone. I think it’s contagious.”
All three roommates said they build off each other in their spontaneity and adventure, and Hansen said he is lucky to have two close friends who push him to try new things.
“Sometimes planning is the enemy of spontaneity,” Runey said.
How Each Roommate Manifests Spontaneity
Even though school has become his priority, Runey said he still tries to be spontaneous whenever he gets the chance. During the last Harvest Moon, Runey said he and a friend decided they would be missing a great opportunity if they didn’t go surfing that night. They ended up surfing until midnight on a weekday, and he recalls it as one of his favorite memories at Pepperdine.
“How exciting your life is hangs in the balance of those decision-making moments,” Runey said. “It’s where it [the opportunity] seems really small, but imagine at that moment you could teleport yourself out to the full moon, or you could be sitting at home watching ‘The Office.’”
Runey said each adventure he takes spurs on his future spontaneity, because his track record of having fun each time is strong, and he trusts that the outcome will be worth it. Even when Runey’s van broke down on a trip, he still found a way to make the trip work.
“Just saying yes takes you to some crazy places, and I try to bring that energy to Pepperdine,” Runey said.
Hansen considers himself spontaneous, but said he finds his spontaneity in a more structured way than his roommates.
“A base of my spontaneity comes in the fact that I have a very structured schedule that allows me to be spontaneous,” Hansen said.
Hansen said he has a lot of fixed time where he completes his necessary obligations, which leaves open a lot of time where he can allow himself to be spontaneous and say yes to anything he wants.
A typical day for Hansen looks like getting his classes and homework done every day by 5 p.m., which he said allows for him to have the rest of the day to be open to spontaneity because he has no other commitments.
“I really like to be open to things that come my way,” Hansen said. “I don’t like to put myself in a box.”
Housefield said he feels his spontaneity comes in waves. He is in a time of intentionality and planning, because he has a lot of goals that take more effort and time.
However, Housefield said he still feels that spontaneity is a huge part of his life.
“I think one part of spontaneity is the willingness to try new things,” Housefield said. “But I don’t think that it’s everything. It’s also being excited to drop what you’re doing and do the unexpected, on your own timing.”
One of Housefield’s favorite memories is when he spontaneously flew to Hawaii for a weekend with no return flight. He was flying on standby and said all conditions had to be perfect for this trip to work out.
“Throughout the process, the adrenaline was so crazy,” Housefield said.
He defines spontaneity as “being hopeful without expectation.”
Housefield said that each time he says yes and tries new things, he is going against the grain of what is easier, and it ultimately builds his confidence.
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Contact Kylie Kowalski via email: kylie.kowalski@pepperdine.edu