How to be a Great Roommate

In the past two years of college, I have experienced my share of roommate situations.  No matter if you’re living with your best friend or someone that you just met, rooming with someone can be an interesting experience.   From having different schedules to dealing with loud music, it can be stressful and draining at times.  However, if you put in some effort, living with someone else can be fun!

Keep all of your belongings separate. 

I know this seems harsh, but I think drawing distinct boundaries between belongings keeps out all questioning.  For both of the rooms that I lived in, I made sure to put all of my stuff on one side of the room, bathroom, and kitchen.  It makes everything easier, because I know that I’m never using my roommates silverware and she’s not using mine.  I’ve learned that some people want to keep their stuff to themselves and it’s always best to try to avoid even the minor disagreements. 

Respect time schedules.

With my major, it's a known fact that I will always have 8 am classes.  I also have a work study job that requires me to wake up early most days.  Having to wake up early all the time is exhausting, so I often find myself going to sleep relatively early.  My current roommate, on the other hand, schedules her classes later in the day, which allows her to stay up later at night.  This can make things complicated, but we have been able to make it work.  Sleep is very important in college, and you don't want to ever bother my roommate.  I make sure that every night before I go to sleep, I set out all of my clothes for the next day and make sure I get ready in our bathroom.  That way, I make sure I’m out of the way and as quiet as possible.  Even at night when I fall asleep around 11:00, my roommate tries to not be disruptive to me.  Both of us working together keeps our room running smoothly and we are both able to get our beauty sleep. 

Find your “own” place to go.

No matter how smooth things are running in your room, there are going to be times when things just feel tense.  Whether its your roommate eating food loudly, singing songs, or watching TV while you are trying to study, its sometimes best to just leave the room for awhile.  Personally, my favorite place to hide out is the library, because its extremely quiet and I am able to focus on my studying.  If the library isn’t your thing, try to find a nice coffee shop or restaurant on campus that can be your place of solitude.  Wherever you choose, its nice to have a place where you can get away from your cramped dorm room and have some “me time”. 

Confront problems (if needed)

Confronting others is just not my thing.  I just can’t do it.  However, if there are issues in your room, things are much better if you just face the awkwardness and talk about whatever is wrong.  I’ve had to do this a few times and expected that it would blow up into a huge argument, but it didn’t.  We were able to work out our issues.  I think if you ignore a problem and let it build up inside of you, it can turn into a much bigger problem than it should be.  You have to live with this person for a year, so you want to pick your battles and avoid all possible arguments.

Make your roommate your friend.

A roommate doesn’t have to just be someone that you live with. My freshman year roommate and I ran in two different friendship circles, so we unfortunately never hung out unless we were in our room.  As I look back, I think that if we went out to dinner or explored the city a few times, we would have become good friends.  Sometimes people write off their roommate as a potential friend, because they just associate them as a person they live with.  I truly believe that if you make an effort with your roommate, you could end up learning a lot about them and create a great friendship.