Among the many new experiences and adjustments that come with being a college student is learning to share a living space with someone else, perhaps someone you don’t even know. We’ve all heard the roommate horror stories and prayed that we wouldn’t be that unlucky soul to get stuck with a “crazy” roommate. Even if we don’t get stuck with our idea of the “roommate from hell,” learning to live with someone can be an adjustment nonetheless. Here are ten hurdles you may face while having a roommate.
Hot N Cold – You walk into your room after a walk outside to find that your room feels like the Arctic Circle. Ok, so maybe your roommate likes the room a little cold while you prefer a more toasty temperature. Fine, until you wind up with a sore throat and the sniffles.
Messy Jessie– Clothes here. Dishes there. No matter how much you clean, you still feel like you’re living in a pigsty. Yikes!
Call Me Maybe (Not) – Right when you get ready to hit the hay, your roommate’s best friend calls, sending her into a loud, hour-long rant about the latest gossip. Looks like your sleep time will have to wait.
Ring the Alarm– Just because your roommate has an 8 a.m. class doesn’t mean you have to be awakened at 7 a.m., right? Wrong. Their alarm (and failure to attempt to be quiet) never fails to awaken you bright and early. Rise and shine!
Trash Mountain– You think she’ll empty it and she thinks you’ll empty it. How long will that mountain of trash in your waste basket continue to build before it becomes an avalanche?
Turn Down For What? – Your roomie decides to blast their music just as you sit down to start your homework or call a friend. Can we turn down just this once?
The Snorer– Just as you slip into a deep sleep, you are awakened by what sounds like a freight train. Wait, no, it’s just your roommate snoring…again. To throw a pillow at them or not to, that is the question.
Your Friends Aren’t My Friends– Their crowd isn’t exactly your crowd and your shared space has become the hangout spot of choice for your roomie’s crew. Or maybe your roomie’s significant other has become a regular visitor, leaving you to search for a new place to sleep.
Lifestyle Differences– They’re the life of every party, every night, while you rather stay in and study. They like to “turn up” while you prefer the sober life. Maybe you and your roommates lifestyles aren’t a match made in Heaven.
Borrowed Belongings– Your roommate is very comfortable with going in your closet to borrow your clothes, grabbing your favorite body spritz and using it, or opening the refrigerator and eating your food…without permission. Not cool.
Even though having a roommate can be a struggle at times, with communication and compromise, you and your roommate can learn to live in harmony.
Breana Ross is a freshman studying broadcast journalism and political science. She is from Clinton, Maryland. She loves to ice skate and dreams of being a newscaster on NBC one day.
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