When I moved onto campus, I had never lived away from family before. A lot of aspects of my life began to change pretty quickly, and one that remained at the forefront of my mind was the idea that I was going to have to get used to living with strangers. Living with friends or family is one thing; you know their quirks, their tics, their pet peeves, etc. but when you move into an apartment with three other people who have never met, there are a lot of unknowns.
I know I am a messy person, and I will be the first to admit that. When I moved into my on-campus apartment, I was worried that my old habits would continue tenfold and my roommates would grow tired of me quickly. However, the opposite happened. What I was not anticipating was that I became hyper aware of myself and my surroundings, and I began to treat my space differently. My roommates and I made a cleaning schedule for each week, and that really improved my attitude towards upkeep within my space.
Another level of living with people you do not know is adjusting to their routines. I was really nervous that my roommates were going to be loud and obnoxious, but I was pleasantly surprised. I did not think that the housing application I filled out prior to moving would really be able to match me well with like minded roommates, but it did a very good job. The girls I was set up with and I have so much in common with each other, and we are constantly giggling and hanging out. We like the same shows, foods, music, etc. and it really helped me make new friends as soon as I arrived.
There are negatives as well as the positives. I have heard one too many horror stories about roommates and strangers, and even just moving in with friends that are totally incompatible with your lifestyle. For me, I have a difficult time with confrontation and advocating for myself. Sometimes I feel uncomfortable asking one of my roommates to turn their music down, or to close the cupboards when they are done. However, if you are going to be living in a place for an extended period of time, making sure that your boundaries are respected is huge.
I genuinely have loved my roommate experience so far. Sure, there have been ups and downs and sometimes I just want to go home. Despite this, I can see my roommates being present in my life forever which makes the stranger danger not so bad.