Getting back into the swing of things with your roommates after a long vacation or a difficult fight can be tough. It’s tempting to keep to yourself, avoid shared spaces, and let the tension go away on its own. And while this might work slowly but surely, isn’t it better to get back to doing the things that friends do as soon as possible? Here are some great ways to reconnect with your suitemates so you can save yourself a week or so of silence and forget all about your silly argument or long-term distance.
1. Cook together.
It’s always tempting to pull the whole, “Let’s get dinner!” to a friend or roommate after a fight or when one of you returns from a trip. It seems like a simple way to jump over the hurdle, sit down face-to-face and talk about what went down. However, more likely than not, you’ll end up talking about something irrelevant, like what happened at a party last night, and miss the opportunity to real-talk.
Instead of going to a restaurant or grabbing a sandwich at Hillside, suggest that you and your roommates all cook dinner together on a night everyone seems relatively free. That way, you can discuss whatever problems or concerns you feel like there might be in your house or in your friendship together as opposed to say, via text, but in a less confrontational setting. And, making meals together can be a real bonding experience since no matter how many roommates you have, everyone can be involved. And if dinner doesn’t seem like it will work? Try baking cupcakes or cookies, which is less time consuming.
2. Do something for your living space together.
Maybe once a month, my roommates and I will spend a few hours on a Saturday afternoon cleaning our apartment together. During the week, it can be hard to keep up with who’s in charge of loading the dishwasher or taking out the trash. Finding a common time where we can all work together to get our chores done actually helps us communicate better. Because we know we spent our time together cleaning, we’re less likely to complain about having to clean throughout the week. Not complaining is one less reason for us to get mad at each other during busy school weeks, which is always a positive thing.
Cleaning together, running errands to pick up more light bulbs or trash bags, or even putting together a piece of furniture or moving around the common room for a new layout can be great ways to work together and reconnect as roommates and friends in the space you’re living in together. Having a shared connection to an effort you all made to improve your space just a little bit more will help you remember how much you and your friends enjoy each other despite a slip up here and there.
3. Go to a BC event together.
The 12 Lake girls at the Beanpot!
During the school week, our lives can get pretty busy spending time in the library or going to various club meetings and other extracurricular responsibilities. Setting aside time to go to an on-campus concert or sporting event can help you bond together as roommates and remind you why you all love BC so much!
HC BC is always posting events going on around campus that you and your roommates can make plans to go to. And, if one of your roommates is involved in a dance organization or on a team, another great way to bond is to go with a bunch of friends to support her at one of these activities!
4. Have a girls’ night in.
So often do we forget in our pursuits of Campus Cuties and fun nights out at parties to make plans to stay in on a Friday to watch trashy TV and veg out. One of the best ways to reconnect with your roommates is to set aside time to spend with just them doing things you all enjoy. Maybe you all love Scandal but haven’t had time to catch up on the most recent episodes, or maybe in your time spent at home over break, you forgot to go and see some of the Oscar-winning movies that your roommates have also been dying to see.
With the new movie theater at The Street and Netflix constantly streaming some great movies and TV shows, you have no excuse to miss out on a night in watching Real Housewives or a cheesy rom-com over a bowl of popcorn or a bottle of wine bonding with your friends and tuning out the BC party scene for a few hours. Even if it’s just a pregame before heading out for the night, playing the House of Cards drinking game, a little time set aside just with your roommates is a great way to remind each other why you’re all friends, and that the current tension isn’t going to stop you from reconnecting for a great rest of the semester.
We tend to forget that sometimes biting the bullet is just what we need to get us over some awkward tension that can arise in the middle of the semester. A little bonding never hurt anyone, and spending some time together doing activities that you all enjoy is often just what the doctor ordered to keep your frienaissance with your roommates continuing for the rest of the school year!
Photo Sources:
http://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/MjAxMy1hYzZjMzdlZTQyN2ZhMDc5
http://bitsotruth.blogspot.com.au
Rachel Ronca
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