For some students, college is the first time you’ve ever had to share a room. Sure, there were summer camps where you’d spend a few weeks in a cabin with 10 other kids, hiding under the covers and praying that the spiders that are lurking around didn’t decide to feast on you. Or perhaps you shared a room with a younger sibling but, lets be honest, any time there was an argument you probably moved to the couch or the guest bedroom for the night. Those experiences don’t quite compare to sharing a room for a year with, more often than not, a complete stranger. Fear not, here are some tips to get your roommate to like you (or at least not hate you).
First of all, never eat your roommate’s food. You see a delectable chocolate cake invitingly placed in the fridge and you think to yourself, “Just one bite. I mean what’s the harm in one bite?”
Stop! Shut that refrigerator door and go about your merry way because one bite will lead to you eating half the cake and drinking some of their milk too. The next thing you know, every piece of their food will be labeled with their initials and they probably won’t talk to you for a week. I mean, it was chocolate cake for heaven’s sake.
If you do happen to get in an argument don’t take the passive-aggressive route. No one likes waking up to a note taped to the door saying, “I spit in all my food because someone doesn’t know how to control their love for chocolate cake.” That just leaves everyone involved bitter and doesn’t solve anything.
Now, to discuss common courtesy, and I’m not talking about please and thank you. If your roommate has an exam the next morning, don’t walk in the room at 3 a.m., turn the lights on, somehow run into everything on your way to bed and then snore as loud as possible.
They may begin to fantasize about killing you in your sleep.
As laid back as your roommate may seem, things change when parents come to visit. If your roommate asks you to clean up your side prior to a parental visitation (let’s be honest, it’s more of an inspection), do it. You don’t want them to think you’re a slob. This should go without saying, but make sure you hide anything that isn’t parent appropriate. Also, as comfortable as you are walking around
In your room with only a shirt on, when parents come to visit, make sure to keep your pants on. Parents frown on that kind of stuff.
As daunting as it may seem, college is the best four years of your life and having a roommate is part of the experience. The ultimate tip to being a good roommate is simply to just be yourself and respect their personal possessions (drop the fork!) and their space.
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