LISA CUMBIE
Living Editor
After a long day of settling into a new school year, all you want to do is crawl into bed, sink into your pillows and drift off to sleep. And just as you’ve accomplished the first two steps to a restful slumber and you start to close your eyes, a stranger opens your door. Yes, you may have met this person when you picked which side of the bedroom you wanted, but you don’t actually know her enough to sleep in the same room with her.
It’s an interesting concept to take two complete strangers with different schedules, interests and activities and merge their lives into roommates. It can be a daunting experience to alter your daily habits and to make the most of your situation. But the truth of the matter is that most of us are likely to find challenges adjusting to a new roommate. So in order to avoid a potentially disastrous situation, we’ve compiled a brief guide to making the most of your living situation.
Step One: Find you mature side
Now that you are on your own, you will discover responsibilities that you haven’t cared to take on until now. Mom’s not going to do your laundry anymore, you’re probably going to miss those home-cooked meals and you will have to figure out how to fit all of your stuff into the small space you will soon call home. This is what your parents like to call a “character-building experience.” You will have to learn to be self sufficient and dependent in the direst of situations.
Step Two: Set some groundrules
It’s not to say that you have to label all of your food with a permanent marker or schedule specific showering times, but it is helpful to lay down a few guidelines from the very beginning. Let your roommates know what your pet peeves are and take note of his or hers as well. And don’t worry, if you don’t think they have pet peeves now, you’ll discover them after a few weeks of being surrounded by the same person everyday.
Step Three: Don’t expect a best friend
Just because you’re roommates doesn’t mean that you have to be best friends. In fact, I would recommend that you try to distance yourselves a bit. Although, at first, you may not know anybody and feel compelled to cling to your roommate, resist the temptation. And if you do land a roommate that you can be best friends with, consider yourself lucky, for this is a rare jewel. You will already spend enough time together simply by living in the same space. If you increase your time that you spend together, you risk the chance of destroying any compatibility you may have by overloading on each other.
Step Four: Set apart some “me” time
Although you may not mind being around your roommate or even enjoy her company, be sure to schedule some alone time for yourself. It’s important to take the time to relax and take care of business without having distractions from roommates or friends. This time can be used to relieve stress in your everyday life that may or may not be caused by your living situation. Either way, it’s important to treat yourself to a little solitude. May I suggest Hero’s Garden on Drescher campus or the small patch of grass in front of the stained glass window on Stauffer Chapel?
Step Five: Communication is key
Just remember, as the frustration may start to build in your life, that the best way to deal with your differences is to get them out in the open. The quicker you talk about your differences and get them out in the open, the sooner you can move on and focus on more important things. So if your roommate is coming in late and keeping you awake, kindly remind her that you need your beauty rest. But don’t forget to keep your mind open and remember that everyone is adjusting just as much as you are.
08-27-2007