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Tips and hints to prevent roommate issues...Apr 26 '01 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line With some planning and discussing, you can make your dorming experience a little easier. When going off to school for the first time, one of the biggest worries is "will I like my roommate". It is stressful enough to be realizing that you are leaving home and will be on your own in a new environment. To have this added stress on top of that just adds to the whole pressure of leaving for college. There are a few helpful tips that I have picked up after three years of college with three different roommates, and the prospects of living in an on-campus townhouse next year with five other girls. The tips have developed both through my own personal experience as well as the observation of other roommies that I have lives beside. 1. Set rules and boundaries ahead of time This will save both you and your roomie a headache. It is good to set boundaries and rules before you live together so as to avoid little fights. Don't like your roomie sharing your clothes? Make that known from the start! Things to discuss include money, food (can your roomie eat anything, or just a few things), cleanliness, night time routine (lights off, times, etc), and study habits. Compromises will have to be made, but come to some sort of agreement that will suit all involved. 2. Figure out how to communicate problems Have some sort of communication system set up for when a problem arises. For example, my friend and her roommate have a notebook that they use to write to each other in. If one is mad at the other, she will write to her roomie what the problem is, why it bothers her, and how she thinks it could be handled. This is a system that works for them, and they have solved several issues in this way without letting them get out of hand. Find a system that works for out and your roomie! 3. Learn that the room does not revolve around you Personally, this was a lesson I am still learning. After being used to living in my own room, it was hard to get used to having someone living in the same room as I. You need to be able to compromise. Give a little, take a little. You and your roommate will inevitably have issues that you disagree on. She may like to listen to her music loud, while you prefer softer music. If you are not willing to give in, and if she is not willing to give in, then you will most likely get nowhere. You need to learn to be considerate of your roomie, and make sure that you are giving in sometimes. I am NOT saying that you need to always let her have his/her way, but you need to make sure that you are not always on the receiving end. This is a tough one, and I still find myself being selfish at times, especially when it comes to my sleep! 4. Save time for you You roommate may be your best friend and you do everything together, but make sure you save time for you. Don't do EVERYTHING together, but separate a little. Having opposite schedules is a good thing because it allows you to have some space. Take a break from one another. Spend time in the room alone. This helps to ensure that you do not get one each other's nerves due to the fact that you are always together! 5. Know that roommate does not always equal best friend Just because you room together does not mean that you will become the best of friends. In fact roommates who start off as good friends often finish the year as enemies, or at least can not live together again. Yes, this is not to be generalized to all, but do not go into college thinking you and your rommate will do everything together. With my second roommate, we were not very close, and never will be. But we got along great, and roomed together again, picking up a third roomie (we live in a triple). It has been a lot of fun. Though we don't do everything together, we do have a lot of fun hanging out when we are in the room together. 6. When a problem does occur, try to work it out. If not, then stick it out the best you can until you can change Unfortunately, in some cases, roommates will not get along. In these circumstances, the roommates need to do their best to make things bearable until something different can be worked out. At my college, we can switch roommates after each semester. Do your best to make it so that you can survive until you are able to leave. This is not always easy. Just try to keep smiling, vent to your core group of friends, and keep looking ahead to the future...you will be able to leave someday. **I just want to note that I attend a Christian college, and there may be other things to keep in mind when attending a public college. But, for the most part, these 6 tips can be applied to all!  |
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