Living With A Roommate

Abhinav Sawhney

This is one of the biggest challenges of the transition from high school to college. Most students coming into college are not accustomed to living or sharing a room with someone. Those that did share a room at home were sharing it with a person they knew really well. The thought of sharing a room with a complete stranger can be intimidating.

It is not always possible for someone to really get along with their roommate, but there are certain things that the two people can do in order to make the stay comfortable for each other. I am going to use the rest of this blog post to talk about a few things that one should do in order to be a good roommate and build a healthy relationship with him or her.

What people need to understand is that to be a good roommate it is not sufficient to just be a good person. There are certain things that must be done in order to create a peaceful living environment. For starters it would not hurt anyone to do a few small favors. For example letting your roommate use your printer or borrow a textbook. Small things like this make a world of a difference in the end.

To avoid misunderstandings it would also be advisable to lay down a few ground rules from the very beginning. These conversations are always a little awkward but at the same time are extremely beneficial in the long run. Things that should be discussed much in advance include; who will be throwing the trash? What time can the t.v be on up till ? How often can one have overnight guests? These are things that could lead to conflict later on, so it's important that they are discussed before hand.

Other things that one should make a habit include, taking a message if there is a call for your roommate, or turning down the music if he or she is asleep. Again these are simple things that will help both individuals to live with each other. At the end of the day always remember; "do to your roommate as you would have them do to you."