As second semester begins, we have returned to the University with yet another bright semester ahead of us. However, this article addresses one of the most foul, eye-rolling, cringe inducing topics: roommate problems.
Whether you and your roommate are enemies to the highest degree, or are best friends who share the most personal of secrets, living with people is a difficult thing to do.
However, even if you and your roommate have a bump in the road, it doesn’t have to be the ending factor in your friendship. In fact, most problems can be patched with a few simple steps and a whole lot of kindness.
The first step to take in living with someone successfully is to put yourself in their shoes. Are they an only child who has never had an opportunity to share things and live with another person, let alone multiple people? Are they one child in a family of six who shares everything with no hesitation?
The awesome thing about college is that there are so many different people from various cultures, backgrounds and upbringings. Yet, the diversity may create division when it comes to goals and living in the same room as someone else. That is why it is crucial to place yourself in the other person’s shoes, and occasionally try to see things from their perspective.
If it makes them uncomfortable to share, maybe you buy some of your own things. If their bedtime is 10 p.m., maybe you do the rest of your late night studying in the library or lounge. By being respectful of your roommate’s wishes you have a better likelihood of getting along with them.
The second step is to communicate effectively. When two people are living with one another in a small space, slight irritations and issues are inevitable. When those slight issues are bottled up and held in, they only escalate. Sometimes, before you know it, you haven’t spoken to your roommate in three weeks because you thought she was mad that you put a can of pop in the fridge.
Without communication, each small bump compiles and continues boiling up until the problems are blown out of proportion and practically irreversible. After a while, the situation becomes so hostile that trying to resolve the problem seems impossible, and could even end in one of you moving out. If the little things were just brought up then and there, a hostile situation would never arise, and the entire fiasco would have been avoided.
Rooming with someone successfully takes effort. Both parties must be invested, willing to empathize and open to communication. If each of these are accomplished, you’ll have an amazing roomie experience. Even if there are problems that can’t be worked out, and you two end up splitting, just know that everything happens for a reason, and the circumstance may end up better for you in the end anyway.
But no matter what, don’t let roommate probs stand in the way of having a blast at one of the best universities around. Roll Along!
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