Whether you are an incoming freshman or you seem to have trouble getting people to stay your roommate, this article is for you! Being a good roommate can be hard for some, so here are some key ways on how to be a good roommate
This is key! Step one on how to be a good roommate is to think of the other person’s interests in accordance with your own. Find out what bothers your roommate and avoid doing those things. It’s a simple concept. If your roommate asks you to stop “borrowing” her clothes, then stop using her stuff. No matter how good her new jeans would look on you. Don’t let them walk all over you like the rug you both pretend is clean. If you enjoy listening to eardrum-damaging volume music at the very crack of dawn while you do yoga, maybe use headphones?
For the love of all that is good and clean, please shower, use deodorant, and brush your teeth. These are not mere suggestions- these are honest, genuine pleas. They come from your roommate, friends, and the people that will suffer in the uncomfortably long and smelly elevator ride down from the 12th floor of the Freedom Tower. You are in college, you are an adult, clean up!
Look, college dorms are never going to be big enough. It is always going to be frustrating trying to fit two, or if you are adventurous enough to live on the Hill or the Circle, three people’s clothes, books, shoes, desks, and beds in one room. Imagine how infuriating it must be to have to constantly remind your roommate that they do not have the whole room to themselves. Don’t be the one who throws their clothes and books all over the room because you only get half of the space! The best way to avoid having your things thrown out the 8th floor window is just to stay on your side; it’s better for everyone involved.
In the same way as sharing the space, you really should share the time in the dorm. Sure, the Commons 2, 8th floor views are amazing, but most people’s safe-haven is going to be the dorm after a long day of classes, friends, and working out. Okay, maybe not me, but some people do, right? Why don’t you just go ahead and give your roommate a break and run down to Dunkin for a bit, you know you want to anyway! This is key on how to be a good roommate.
Learning each other’s schedules helps you know when it’s safe to be in the dorm and do everything you want to do without judgement. Maybe you want to work out or paint your nails or practice your guitar skills- the guitar you haven’t touched in about five months. I can’t speak for everyone, but maybe your roommate doesn’t want to hear you cry about the boy who didn’t text you back. It’s been three weeks girl, move on!
You’ve probably heard that communication is key to a relationship- well, it’s true with roommates too. If you hate that she uses your toothbrush in the mornings, because why wouldn’t you, then you have to tell her because she will keep doing it until you do. I hate confrontation just as much as the next gal, but if my roommate is secretly hating me because I haven’t been cleaning my hair out of the shower drain. ,my bad Bella, then I would want to know. The sooner you clear the air, the sooner you can just get back to normal and watch a movie together instead of studying for the English exam you both have the next morning.
Okay, this one is a favorite for me. We are all broke college kids- that’s a fact. Sometimes, we run out of the millions of snacks our moms packed us at the beginning of the semester. We find ourselves in a desperate situation where we are near starving and the only thing open is Doc’s. We know deep in your heart you will not survive the five-minute walk there. It’s in these hard times that we need to look to our roommate and say the words she will remember when selecting people to be in her future wedding: “Hey, do you want some of my food?”
Liberty is a friendly campus which is great when you need a group of people to go to game night with, but it’s a little less convenient when your roommate has decided to befriend just about everyone in the building. This is a good conversation to have early on. How do you feel about visitors in the room? Is there any time you don’t want visitors in the room? Figure this out before your roommate brings in five new friends and you are sitting on your bed with no pants watching The Office for the millionth time.
If you like your roommate, you should put in an effort to be an actual friend. You are going to have to hang out outside of the dorm. I would definitely recommend getting dinner once a week, going to the gym together, or even watching a hockey game together at Lahaye Ice Center. Spend some time having fun instead of worring about how we really need to buy some more toilet paper soon!
Even if you choose to room with your best friend from home, you have to get to know him or her in a whole new way- as a roommate. You have to learn their sleeping habits and morning routine. Do they enjoy listening to music in the room or prefer quiet? Do they snore? Will they want to be the party room and always have visitors over? These are questions you should ask before you decide to be roommates, more importantly if you want to both learn how to be a good roommate. If you chose “random selection,” don’t worry. Make sure you get the answers to these questions and start studying because you are in for a semester of frustration and passive-aggressive post-it notes left on your desk if you don’t.
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