What I Learned From Living With My Roommates
I am a sophomore living with some of my best friends in college- but it did not start off like this. Freshman year, I had two different roommates and I learned a lot from them.
Let me bring you back to summer before freshman year, everyone is posting in the Class of 2021 Facebook page, making connections and finding their perfect roommates. One day I finally found one and was looking forward to school so much more. Moving forward in summer, communication with my future roommate was hard due to her own personal life getting in the way. We could not discuss if we wanted to match, get to know each other more, and overall rarely talked. I realized it did not really matter and that we would have a lot of time in the upcoming year.
Move in day freshman year is FINALLY here and I am jumping with joy. I was excited to branch out and meet new people and have an overall fun year. The very first night, my friends from home and I decided to go out and see what UNH had to offer, I invited my roommate to come along and she declined. The same thing happened the next day. As well as the weekend after. I shortly realized that my roommate and I were not as close as I hoped. Weeks went on, I had found a routine and was really settling down, but my roommate had not. She started sleeping in later and later, skipping more classes and would stay out late every night. By late I mean I would wake up at 3 AM to either use the bathroom or get a drink of water and she still was not home, and I would come back from class at 2 PM and she would still be sleeping. I figured she was going through a rough patch and she will get it together.
It is finally the end of the semester finals. Reflecting on the past semester, my roommate and I never hung out and at that, we never really talked. I started to focus on myself, my school and meeting new people. Halfway throughout winter break, my roommate texted me saying she was on academic suspension and would not be returning for the spring semester. My roommate turned into my ex-roommate and I was in need of a new roommate.
My roommate second semester shed some light into my life and it was a different type of experience. She was an early riser and went to bed early as well. It was a new routine for me to adapt to, and it taught me I could get ready for bed or finish a homework assignment in the dark. Again, we were not as close because of we both had already formed our own friend groups. We both just co-existed in each other’s world. We could easily have a conversation about anything or just sit in perfect silence.
Both experiences with my roommates taught me some things that make living with someone a whole lot easier.
1. Communication is key!
If there are any issues at all, the easiest way to fix it and make sure that it will not happen again is to speak up! You are paying to live on campus, do not make your time worse when it does not have to be.
2. Set rules and guidelines!
One of the best ways to avoid conflict is to work out what you are comfortable with. This goes well with number one. Talk about visitors, boys, drugs, and alcohol all in the beginning that way there are not any as many future issues.
3. It does not kill you to be civil!
All of the freshman years, I lived with two different girls and neither of who I was close with. If you are not close to your roommate, does not mean you cannot be nice to them. A ‘Hi, How was your day?’ goes a long way.
4. Co-existing is okay.
You do not need to best friends with your roommate, it is okay living with one another and not hanging out 24/7. (Sometimes a break from your friends is good!)
5. Be patient!
Sometimes living with a new person is hard for people and they need an adjusting time. Wait it out and things will get better!