How To Have a Positive First Roommate Experience
How To Have a Positive First Roommate Experience
Why should you care? Most likely you’ll be living with roommates a good portion of your time here at ECU and it’ll be one of the best parts if you approach it with the right attitude! To most of us, sharing a living space was a foreign concept before college so here is some advice from someone who’s been doing it for years.
Compatibility
Of course, it’s best to start off on the right foot and snag a roommate you get along with. Try your best to reach out to people you already know coming to ECU that you think would be a good fit. If you were like me and don’t know anyone, Facebook is a great way to meet people! Make sure when you’re searching you’re being as honest and open as possible about yourself. You want to make sure who you’re attracting is attracted to your true self. Before you sign up for housing together, make sure you discuss important topics like sleep schedules or whether or not they’re a neat freak to avoid potential conflicts.
Get to know them
So its official, you’ve sent in your housing and you’re just counting down the days until August. Take these next couple months to get as comfortable as possible with each other so you’re not strangers on move-in day. If they’re not nearby, follow each other on social media and text frequently to get excited about college together! Freshman year is a lot less daunting when you know going into it you already have a friend, why not make it your roommate?
Set boundaries
This is the most important piece of advice. From the start, be comfortable talking about the things you are and are not okay with while living together. If you set boundaries early on, you and your roommate are going to avoid a lot of drama. If you’re not comfortable sharing clothes, say that! Often roommates make the mistake of just going along with things because they want to be friends fast. The issue with that is after living together for months these things start to come back up as huge conflicts. There is nothing wrong with being open and honest about yourself when sharing a living space.
Be respectful
When you live with someone its crucial to maintain a certain level of respect for each other. Whether you become best friends or not, you still share a room and you still spend a good amount of time together. Passive aggressiveness is probably the worst strategy to approaching roommate problems because it usually just increases an already tense situation. If you have an issue, respectfully discuss it with them to come to a solution that makes everyone happy.
Communicate
You’re not a mind reader and neither is your roommate. What might be obvious signs or dropping hints to you could go completely over your roommate’s head. Everyone is different, and everyone has different preferences. It’s important to have open communication with each other and to be comfortable talking about things that need to be talked about.
Pick your battles and compromise
Even the best roommate pairings have their fair share of conflict. If you have never shared a room before, prepare yourself for a lot of compromising. While it is important to set boundaries for what you’re comfortable with, keep in mind your roommate’s concerns are valid and important too. Things might happen that are less than ideal but a huge lesson to take away from living with others in college is learning to be flexible. Pick your battles to things that actually matter and are affecting your quality of living. Nobody is the perfect roommate at all times and sometimes you just need to cut each other some slack.
Make the most of it!
Freshman year is a year full of making tons of new friends but you’ll always remember your first roommate. It doesn’t always end up being the perfect “my roommate’s my best friend” scenario; however, making an effort to be the best roommate you can be will make both of your experiences less stressful.