Getting along with your roommate

March 24, 6:41 PMAmerican University ExaminerShannon Griffin

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The part I dreaded most about coming to college was the roommate situation.  Like most Americans, I’ve lived in a fairly large room all by myself for the past 18 years.  My worst nightmare was having to share an extremely small room with another person, maybe two people. 

The dorm rooms at American University aren’t the smallest I saw when touring colleges, but they were far smaller than what I was used to.  Each normal room has a large window, two beds, two desks, and a shelving unit.  I say “normal room” because there are rooms that are suites, which are completely different. 

It could be scary living with someone you’ve never met before.  If there’s one person you want to get along with, it’s your roommate.  They have the ability to make your year the best or the worst you’ve ever experienced.    Stay on their good side.  In order to do this, you have to be fairly open-minded.  You can’t let the little things bother you. 

However, you shouldn’t let your roommate get away with murder, so to speak.  If he or she does something that really bothers you, you should point it out.  Politely ask them to stop.  Of course, there are a few things that they cannot change.  For instance, if they have an 8:30 class and you don’t have to be up until noon, get over it.  They have a class and their alarm will probably wake you up.  If they’re courteous, they’ll be as quiet as possible so you can get back to sleep.  Sleep can be a touchy subject.  If your roommate wants to sleep, let them.  Don’t be loud and obnoxious when they’re tired.  Go to your floor lounge or sit in the hallway when they’re sleeping.

Next,   try and divide the room into halves.  Keep all your stuff on the side of the room which has your bed.  Of course, you don’t have to put a duck tape line right down the middle but be considerate about their space.   

Finally, your roommate doesn’t have to be your best friend.  Actually, some of the time, the best roommate is the one that you only see when you wake up and go to sleep.  If you want you can go out to dinner a few times a week or watch your favorite TV shows together, but you don’t have to do everything together.  After all, you have to live with them for a year; you don’t want to tire of them within the first week.

If you liked this article, check out some of my others!

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