Going away to college is an exciting time! New people to meet, classes to start, and independence to develop. However, while all those things are wonderful, there’s one new thing that not everyone is as natural at: being a roommate. So, because all of you reading this either currently have a roommate or will soon have a roommate, I thought I’d share five tips to being an great roommate.
- Communicate
- Organize
- Clean
- Balance
- Respect
Communication is key in every relationship, especially one where you live with the person. When there is a problem, it’s better to openly talk about the issue than suppress your feelings inside. Also, good communication allows each roommate to have reasonable expectations of each other. A lot of frustration can be diminished if you communicate about your schedule, how clean you are, if you’re shy/outgoing, or even when you like to go to bed.
Organization: Stay organized. You’re living with another person now; you cannot just throw your things anywhere and everywhere.
Going along with organization is being clean. Whether you’re a Type-A clean person, or just slightly messy, it is important to maintain a certain level of cleanliness. This includes: doing your laundry, making your bed, changing your sheets, and putting your things away. Even though it might seem annoying to always be cleaning, it makes life a lot easier when living in a small space.
Living a balanced life is also important. It’s important to have a good mix of studying and having fun, and hanging out with roommates and spending time with other friends. In general, you’ll find yourself to be more successful if you balance you time, academics, friends, and money.
Finally, show your roommate respect. If you have early morning classes and your roommate doesn’t, make sure you do as much as you can the night before so you won’t wake your roommate in the morning. If you are going to set your alarm for early make sure you get up with the alarm and don’t hit snooze for hours. Also, respect your roommate’s privacy. Not every one lives life as an open book. Respect the personality of those you live with, because it will make a huge difference.