Are you a smart and savvy pre-collegiette looking for answers to some of your most personal questions about college? You know, the ones about boys, classes, roommates and parties that your school’s guidance office can’t help you with? Jen is here to answer those questions! Whatever your concern, she’ll do her best to help you so you can make sure you don’t just survive college, but rock it!
How do you deal with sharing a bathroom with a ton of other girls? – Hesitant in Hawaii
Hesitant,
Thirty collegiettes sharing one bathroom space with only six toilets and five showers does sound a little crazy. And I can see why! You’ll have many different types of girls in the bathroom: the shower singer (can be a blessing or a curse), the girls who avoid eye contact, the ones who try to talk to you while you’re brushing your teeth and even the girls who don’t wash their hands. Welcome to college!
Early on, you’ll find that you don’t really ever have to wait in line to use a stall or shower, since everyone does their business at different times. After you live in your dorm for a few weeks, you might find a stall or a shower that’s your favorite (I remember the fifth shower from my freshman year fondly), so that might be taken sometimes, but you’ll find that there’s usually something available for you.
A nice part of sharing a bathroom is that it’s an easy time to catch up with your hall mates or roommates throughout the day (since everyone has to use the bathroom, right?). With my schedule figured out down to the minute, I’m constantly on the go, but it’s easy for me to quickly chat with friends while I do my hair or makeup.
One of the downsides to sharing a bathroom is that some girls aren’t so great at cleaning up after themselves (like leaving their hair to clog the shower and leaving their toothpaste in the sink). If it gets super annoying, you can mention it to your RA, who can say something to everyone at your next floor meeting. If you’re comfortable with it, you can even politely mention it to the girl herself, but drop the sass if you can!
To bring this up to the girl directly without offending her, you might want to pay her a compliment first. This can break the ice a bit. Then, politely say, “Hey, it bothers me when you leave your toothpaste/hair/etc. in the sink, so do you mind keeping an eye on it next time? I would really appreciate it.” Whatever you do, don’t leave a nasty note demanding that she clean up after herself. It can come off as disrespectful, and she might continue doing it if you don’t ask her to stop nicely. Then, you’ll be back to square one with that same toothpaste-filled sink. Ew.
In the end, you’ll only be sharing the bathroom with these girls for a little bit, and it’s all part of your college experience!