On top of the weekly stress that our classes, social lives, and workloads bring us, the thought of housing lotteries and roommates for next year can be extremely overwhelming. Whether you are a freshman wishing to live in the village, a sophomore wanting the perfect townhouse, or a junior going over final details for your beach house lease, everyone’s stress levels seem to be going through the roof. Along with housing choices, the idea of potentially not being able to live with all your friends adds a whole new level of anxiety to our already stressful lives.
At this moment, the thought of not living with everyone in your bestie group chat, and the thought of splitting up seems to be causing more drama than you may have expected. It is essential to remember just because you are best friends doesn’t necessarily mean you should live together. Sometimes, in order to maintain a healthy friendship, the best thing to do is separate from each other. Though this concept may be hard to understand, everyone needs her daily dose of alone time where we can relax.
With that said, here are the top three things you should know before picking your roommate(s) for next semester:
1. REALITY CHECK: Am I actually neat or am I a secret tornado?
Lets face it girls: we have a lot of stuff! Between our makeup, shoes, and seasonal clothes, it seems that we may need an additional room just for our belongings. For some of us on the neater side, we have a place for everything. We bring additional storage containers and our handy dandy labeler to make sure everything is in its exact place. For others, we are neat in our own way. We know where everything is (even if it means it is scattered all over the floor), and to the “blind eye” we may seem messy. However, in reality, if we were asked to find our daily desires, we would be able to locate them in a mere 5 seconds.
There is nothing wrong with being neat and having a messy roommate and there is nothing wrong with being messy and having a neat roommate. You just have to lay down some ground rules. For instance, if you are super-neat and your roommate is messy, pick a cleaning day once a week when everything is vacuumed, Lysoled, and put away. If you are the messy one, be mindful of your side of the room. Try to put things away every night before you go to bed. If you believe you and your BFF are too different, then it may be best to live with other people.
2. Sleep schedule: Am I a morning rooster or a night owl?
Sleep is a magical thing. For some, the aspect of sleep is boring and we would much rather be out all-night partying or staying up into the deep hours of the night watching Netflix. We are capable of doing our best with only a few hours of sleep, and the thought of going to bed before 1 a.m. is unheard of. For others, we need our precious 8 hours of sleep.
Now for some, sleeping till noon and having a roommate who loves 8ams isn’t a problem. For others, it is pure hell. When choosing a roommate for next year keep in mind what kind of sleep schedule they are on. If you are on different ones but still want to live together, be mindful of your noise level coming home late at night or leaving for your class early in the morning.
3. Question of the century: Yes we are best friends, but can we actually live together?
We all have that one friend who we call our BFF. We are constantly with each other and everyone knows that if you see one, the other is not that far behind. When the time came around to pick roommates, you didn’t have to think twice. Everybody already assumed you’d be living together and the thought of not is something similar to a nightmare. Now the saying goes that “even best friends can’t live together” but the question posed is, is this actually true?
We may all say no right away, however, spending every waking moment together with someone and never really getting your own space can sometimes cause tension in any relationship. Everyone needs their alone time, and that time is usually spent in our bedrooms. Though living with your best friend seems like the best thing, sometimes to stay best friends, its better to be neighbors than roomies.
This is a big decision. Through this process, we must remember that our living situations are temporary, and so is the stress that piggy backs behind it. Wherever you end up isn’t the end of the world. We must make the most out of every situation, even if it seems like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. In every complicated situation there is a silver lining. Whether it may be increasing your friend circle or getting to sleep a little later every morning, things will work out! Have fun and don’t worry, no matter where and whom you live with next semester, it’s what you make out of it that will make it the best.