Three Tips to Surviving College with a Roommate

Linna Jones
Commentary Editor

   Living in a dormitory  requires sharing your space with a roommate. This may be a person you know or a complete stranger.  When you room with someone, its like being in a relationship; roommates figure out what buttons to push or not to push, have annoying habits and other attributes you learn about one another during the year.

   Sometimes the roommate relationship crashes and burns, due to unsolvable differences. This leads to two conclusions; you remain friends with your ex-roommate after the experience or you never speak to them again.

  I live in a dormitory and in my first four years, I lived on all three floors of my building, in four different rooms and lived with five different roommates. You may question why five? Well, there are multiple reasons, and I will honestly say I am still friends or on friendly terms with three out of five of them.

    After my fifth roommate, I decided to live alone. I will say that without my multiple roommate experiences, I do not think my college experience would not have been the same.

   Living with a roommate can be a really good experience, but if you are having difficulties, here are some tips you might want to try.

Tip #1 Get to know One Another

 
   After going through the formalities of “Hi, my names is_____” and “I am from_____,” learn about each other’s habits and what he or she may be like. 

   A person’s habits may be normal to themselves, but not to someone  they have not roomed with before. So if you talk in your sleep, sleep walk, like to have clutter, like to be really neat, talk on the phone five hours a day, snore, or any other habit not mentioned,  it might be best to talk about it so that there are no surprises or arguments about your habits in the future.

   For example; if you are messy and your roommate is super neat, try to compromise. You may want to do this with other issues as well. This will help in finding what you have in common or interesting facts about each other and can help develop a friendship with your roommate.

Tip # 2 Establish each other’s space and shared spaces

   What should be considered shared or personal space?  The scenario: one room, two closets, two beds or bunk beds, drawers or cabinet space dedicated for each, one or two desks (depending on the room), two sets of possessions and two people.

   This scenario is everyday life if you live in a dormitory. Obviously, drawer space, bed, closet space and your possessions may be considered private, but what will be shared? Roommates should decide what is shared or private in the room. The broom, mop and cleaning supplies may be shared or even some food items for that matter.

   During my third year, my roommate and I decided what could be shared. This included food, cleaning supplies, floor space, (obviously), the sink, dishes and the desk. In the desk we each had two draws of our own. My roommate and I never really argued, but one thing we did do was talk. If we had problems, we talked them out. 

Tip # 3 Learn each Other’s Schedule

   You might want to learn each other’s schedule if only for the purpose of alone time. No one really wants to be around the same person 24 hours a day, seven days a week or 28-31 days a month.

   Sometimes roommates need to be apart and alone time is good for sleeping, doing homework or other important activities. Sometimes you may just want to be in your room by yourself where you don’t have to worry about asking if the music is too loud.

   You may also have different times to wake up in the morning. For example, you have an 8 a.m. class and your roommate does not, he or she may have to adjust to the noises of your morning routine or vice versa.

 Conclusion

   Sometimes, living with someone ends with a positive experience and sometimes negative. If after trying to get along with your roommate will not work, it might be better to move in with someone else, get a private room or find other living arrangements. Dormitory life may not be for everyone, but it is one option for students who attend college more than 10 minutes from home.

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