or totally different.
They say in real estate it’s all about location, location, location. When living with a roommate, it’s all about communication, communication, communication.
1. Think (and speak) ahead. If you decide to room with someone you’ve never met before, get to know your roommate…before you get to school. Once you have been paired with your roommate, take the first step and e mail him/her, give him/her a call, friend him/her on Facebook. Make the effort to meet the person you’ll be spending the next year with, and it will make move in day and your entire first year that much easier. If you already know your roommate, start discussing room arrangements. Have you got a tv? Maybe he/she can bring a stereo. Start working on these details so you can get a better idea of what you’ll need to be packing up next fall (this is also a great way to determine what to request for graduation presents).
2. Make a contract. I know, I know, it sounds excessive, but it can work. And if you feel ridiculous putting it all in writing, at least have a verbal agreement on situations including the following: your policy on guests, are guests allowed to stay overnight? Are snacks and food to be shared, or do you each keep your own supply? Who cleans what? When does the tv go off at night? Believe me, it’s much easier to start off with these things in place, before you find yourself at semester break wondering how you’ll ever make it through the next four months listening to Michael Buble swoon you to sleep every night, or stepping over Leonard (a.k.a. The Third Wheel) every morning, who somehow has become a permanent fixture on your floor.
3. Speak now or forever hold your peace. Something about your rooming situation bothering you? Speak up! Maybe your roommate spilled his soda all over your laptop, maybe he and his noisy friends woke you up the night before a big exam, maybe he didn’t shower on that weekend camping trip and brought an entire community of fleas back to your room. Don’t let his shortcomings make your insides boil and leave you harboring resentment for nine months. Let him know what’s bothering you, talk about it and settle it. And if you’re not going to talk about it, then LET IT GO.
Transition can be tough, but it comes with the territory of living with someone new. Understand and accept that everything won’t go your way, that there will be hiccups along the road, that it all boils down to a little give and take…and that you can’t forget to COMMUNICATE!
Woof,
Clyde
