Roommate Love

Fall is the freshest season.  New faces, classes, and experiences are waiting for each one of us this year.  For many of us, this also means new roommates.  Of course, some are living with old friends, but those of you who are rooming with a stranger may feel in over your head.

There is no reason to go into the experience with expectations, negative or positive. Many of you have heard horror stories about roommate situations gone badly.  You’ve heard that night owls and early birds will forever be feuding if they’re stuck in a dorm together.  Your one friend had a completely psychotic roommate, but on the other hand, this girl you know through a different friend said she met her best friends through her roommates.

My advice?  Ignore everyone else’s stories.  Don’t let them influence how you think your experience will be with the new person sharing your living space. 

The main thing to remember is respect.  This may sound obvious, silly even, but the lack thereof is what will take your experience from satisfying to horrible.  This doesn’t mean you will necessarily agree on everything harmoniously, it just means accepting it and treating this person in the nicest possible manner.

If you know this person has a test at 6:00 a.m. on Monday, don’t sit up on Skype until 2:30 a.m. when you are five feet away from her. 

It may not be convenient for you to go to sleep at the same moment as your roommate, and I’m not saying that you should, however, if you stay up later, keep it quiet.  If this isn’t possible, spend your time somewhere where silence is not a necessity. 

When your alarm goes off in the morning, please, people, do not let it sing to itself for fifteen minutes before hitting snooze.  You hear it, get up, and turn it off.  Your roommate, I guarantee, doesn’t want to listen to this amidst her dreams for a half-hour. 

For those of you living in dorms, you are blessed with someone who comes in and cleans for you.  Do not take that for granted.   You’ll be missing it later.  For those of you off-campus, whether in an apartment or a house, cleaning is now your responsibility.

By all means, keep your room however you want, but the living area you’re sharing should be maintained.  Again, this is just respect to your roommates. 

If everyone does their part, this concept is pretty easy.  If you make a mess in the kitchen, clean it up.  Had friends over the night before?  Clean up as soon as you can the next afternoon.  I’m not saying we all have to be neat freaks to get along, but there would be a lot less room for potential arguments if we were all equal in keeping a place that is comfortable to live in.

Something that has really worked for my roommates and I is a chore chart.  Especially if you live in a house, where there is a lot more to do, it’s a simple way to keep everyone on that level playing field.  One week you’re mowing the lawn, the next you’re doing the kitchen, and the next you’re sweeping. 

You know this, and you can plan your schedule accordingly.

We keep our chart on our fridge where everyone can see it.

Also, if you do notice friction in your relationship, air it out early.  Getting it all out in the open as soon as possible lets you both adjust what you need to in order to make your roommate or yourself happy.  It also prevents additional stress or tension on the both of you.

With that being said, get to know your roommate.  Have fun!  No one’s saying you two need to become inseparable; no one said you need to be enemies, either.  It doesn’t usually end up falling into one of the two extremes, anyway. 

Again, this is your experience, no one else’s.  So make it your own!  This is your year!  Enjoy!!