I know we’ve all heard horror stories about bad college roommates, and I was determined to not let my college experience add to the list. After having a random roommate my freshman year, my friends and I decided that we wanted to move into a four-person suite. I knew that this was going to be a little challenging because, though we were all friends outside of our rooms, I was not sure how well we would get along when crammed into one space. However, it worked out better than I could have imagined, and we all do little things to help each other out. Here are some ways my suitemates and I get along with each other and keep our friendship strong!
Remembering their tests, projects, and other important events
This be be a little odd, but I keep a notes page on my phone where I type out if one of my roommates mentions that she has a quiz, test, or presentation. This way I won’t forget to ask how it went. Since I can barely keep track of my own quizzes, I find it helpful to write it down even though it may seem a little creepy, but I really appreciate it when someone asks me about my activities, so I have developed this method to do the same for others!
Writing them a note
This goes along with the previous tip, but if you know when they have a stressful day or week ahead of them, you can write them an encouraging note and put it under their door. I do this for my suitemates fairly frequently, and they do the same for me. It is really encouraging to walk out of your door in the morning and see a thoughtful note that one of your roomies took the time to write.
Spending time together
Photo courtesy of Sarah Frederickson
I know, so profound, but my roommates and I have found that scheduled time together is one of the best ways to make sure we can all still hang out through all of our activities and schoolwork, plus it is a good study break. We have Bachelor viewing parties every Monday and enjoy watching Riverdale every Thursday when it is on. We also play board games, do face masks and even made up a Kahoot game with trivia about our squad. It’s a good time. 10/10 would recommend trying this one!
Doing the dishes
Yes, not the most glamorous of tips, but if I am doing my own dishes and one of my roommates has a few things in the sink, I will usually just wash theirs as well. After all, it will probably only take you a few minutes longer, and it may really help them out. If they have had a really stressful day of classes and get back to see their clean dishes, it may relieve a lot of their stress just by one simple action.
Buying them coffee
Photo courtesy of Mike Marquez
As you may have noticed by now if you’ve read any of my other articles (or if you just know me as a person), I am in a very committed relationship with coffee. And as someone whose love language is gift-giving, one of my favorite ways to be a good roommate is to go to the Curris Center or Dunkin’ Donuts early in the morning and buy my roommates coffee and a muffin for my non-coffee loving sister. (I know, how are we even related?) Plus, you also get to get some for yourself, so it’s a win-win.
Compromising
Last but not least, make sure that you are compromising with your roommates. Sure, maybe you don’t love their bright pink fluffy chair, but just let them put it in the living room anyway. Or maybe when you want to watch something on TV, try watching what they want to watch instead. This is a simple way to be a kind roommate and ensure that you all will get along.
I feel very qualified to write this article because my roommates and I have only ever had one fight. We call it The Great Muffin War of 2017…Let’s not even go there! But all of that to say, if you follow these tips, you’re sure to be an absolutely amazing roommate and get some of these things back in return. After all, no one wants be filming a YouTube “storytime” video about their bad roommate experience. Yikes!
P.S. Please enjoy this photo of my suitemates and me that I have accurately entitled: “When the squad is taking a picture without you!”
Photo courtesy of Sarah Frederickson