College is full of changes. New place, new food, new teachers, new people, new room. For many, the biggest change may also be the scariest one; sharing a room, and not just sharing it with anyone, sharing it with someone you just met! But, as hundreds of years of college graduates have taught us, you can do it! Being the best roommate you can be isn’t too tricky and mainly just requires a little bit of optimism and patience. Keep these ideas in mind during your time as a roommate to make it less stressful and more enjoyable.
1. Respect Privacy and Personal Space
The space that you are living in is being shared. This means that you can’t live the exact way as you did before. You must respect the needs of your roommate(s). Ask before you use, or even touch, items that aren’t yours. And obviously, don’t go snooping around in your roommate’s stuff. Everyone is different. Some people are fine sharing everything, while others want to share nothing, and that is perfectly okay. Understanding and communicating about each other’s boundaries is the best way to avoid arguments all together.
2. Stay Clean
Shower daily, but also make time to clean up your part of the room daily. This means washing clothes, taking out the trash, cleaning dishes or whatever else falls into this category for you. A clean space makes a happy mind!
Using communal bathrooms make showering no fun. Using new, interesting products, however, do make it fun! Remember to keep up with your personal hygiene in whatever way that means to you. Whether that means facemasks, painted nails, body scrubs, shaving, or whatever you like, make sure to keep up with it. Smelling nice and clean always feels good!
3. Be Kind
Kindness is key! You never know what is going on behind closed doors, so always treat your roommate with kindness. Everyone has parts of their life that they don’t want to share, so respect that and show empathy. When your roommate is feeling sad or homesick, find compassion. Remember, hugs and smiles go a long way!
These are the most basic rules of sharing a room; there are a million ways to be a good roommate, but you need to figure out what that means in your situation. Everybody is different, so be the best roommate for your roommate. At the end of the day, if you and your roommate are happy, that’s all that matters!