What To Do If You Hate Your Roommate
It is a stressful experience being thrown into a small space with a random person. It is even more stressful when you hate the person you are living with or don’t get along with. Not to offend any roommates I have had in the past, I have never truly or fully gotten along with a roommate. It is because I have a particular routine I like to stick to, and I like to do work in my room but have trouble doing work with anyone else in the room; having a roommate interrupts my flow of the day leaving me flustered. However, I did endure living with roommates I didn’t get along with for two years and have heard countless horror stories from my friends about the roommates they didn’t get along with. With all this mind, here are some tips on what to do if you hate your roommate:
Try communicating with your roommate
You should always try to talk honestly with your roommate at first and let him or her know when something he or she do bothers you. You can’t assume that he or she know that you are annoyed with him or her because he or she doesn’t know you well enough to make that conclusion. Honesty and communication is the first step to improving the living situation. This is the first thing you should do if you hate your roommate. This is crucial for what to do if you hate your roommate what to do if you hate your roommate.
Smile and say hi at least
Just because you don’t like or get along with your roommate doesn’t mean you can’t be civil with that person. A simple smile or “hi” when he or she walks in the door goes a long way rather than flat out ignoring the person, which just makes the environment uncomfortable.
Create a separate environment
The whole point of sharing a room is being able to split the space of the room with another person. Sometimes it’s difficult if there is more than two people to a room, but you all try to give each other there own little space. That being said, make that space your space so you won’t interfere or interrupt with the space of your roommate.
Be Respectful
The easiest way to make a horrible living arrangement worse is by being deliberately disrespectful to your roommate by being loud while he or she sleeps or is trying to study. If you want him or her to respect you, you need to show the same respect. However, that doesn’t mean allow you to be disrespectful to your roommate if he or she is already being disrespectful. It’s another opportunity to communicate.
Do get someone else involved
Don’t be afraid to get your RA or RD involved if the situation or living environment gets worse. It is there job to help make your transition to college easier and to aid you in any way that they can. They can help conduct a formal meeting between you and your roommate to help talk about the living environment and what each of you can do to improve it. This is definitely helpful if your roommate isn’t willing to talk to you about the living environment one on one.
Find a space outside of your room
With an uncomfortable living environment, it might be a good idea to find another spot on campus that you can turn to when you can’t stand to be in your own room with your roommate. This could be the library, the dining hall, or a little cafe. Honestly, any spot on campus where you are able to have some alone time and gather your thoughts.
Do let out the frustration
Another terrible thing you can do to make the living environment worse is to bottle up your feelings. Having someone you can vent to about your roommate or even just writing it out on a piece of paper might help to relieve you of your frustration towards your roommate. If you continue to let it bottle up, then you might act or speak rashly towards your roommate, which will make the situation worse.
Find a group of friends
Not everyone becomes best friends with his or her roommate. It’s a nice thought, but it’s not necessary. Therefore, go out and make some other friends that you can hang out with and talk to. It will give you lots of chances and excuses to stay out of your room and something to take your mind off whatever your roommate did to annoy you that day. Not to mention, you can live with these friends in your future college years avoiding another roommate you don’t get along with. This is the perfect tip for what to do if you hate your roommate.
Take lots of walks
If you are particularly feeling frustrated towards your roommate because of something he or she did or said, it might be easy to take a long walk to relieve your frustration. A long walk will also give you the space you need to clear your head and think rationally about the situation at hand and how you can approach it.
Consider switching roommates
If the situation continues to get worse, and the relationship between you and your roommate is getting terribly out of hand, you might want to consider switching roommates. I know it can be pain to switch and move all your belongings, but no one should be forced to live with someone he or she truly don’t get along with. Give it some thought, and make the best decision for yourself and well being. This is the last resort of what to do if you hate your roommate.
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