Communication key to having a good relationship with a roommate

With half of the semester under our belts, freshmen are finding it easier to adjust to college life. This includes dealing with a roommate.

I’ve been lucky enough, for my first few weeks of college, to have a roommate I can get along with. However, I can see others on my same floor struggling to find common ground with a roommate. Even I come across times where I disagree with what my roommate wants to do, but I have to remember that I’m not living on my own anymore. I have to remember that we live in small spaces and have to be around this person for the rest of the year.

A big misconception coming into college was that my roommate and I will become best friends. Most often, however, this isn’t the case. But it would help to, at the very least, be civil and respect each other. There’s a reason we began the semester by signing a roommate agreement. How people follow and adhere to those standards can really result in how your roommate situation looks and feels like.

The way I got my roommate wasn’t in the best way. She was having problems with her roommate and I meet her through mutual friends. One night she was telling me about all her problems with her then-current roommate and, even though I won’t admit it, I felt a little bad for her. She was a nice person, and I told her that I didn’t have a roommate, and offered her an opportunity to move in with me. And, yes, her problem was that severe that she was thinking of changing floors completely.

Although the words just came out of my mouth spontaneously, I haven’t really regretted them since. Does she do things that bug me? Well, yes. She she wakes up early and turns on her desk lamp every morning to put on makeup, but it’s nothing I can’t deal with.

The number one thing to have to remember is that communication with your roommate is always important. If they do something that is truly irritating, I suggest talking with them. That was my roommate’s problem with her last living conditions: she didn’t communicate, and it got so out of hand, she didn’t even want to try to communicate anymore because she thought she would just make the problem worse. But it’s never too late in the semester to turn things around if they’re going south.

Also, it’s okay to want or do different activities. In fact, it’s very important that you have independence from each other. As two separate individuals, everyone needs time alone or with other people. And if things are still rocky, learning how to compromise with each other is key. Communication, separation and compromise are the three biggest things in any relationship, even between acquaintances sharing a room.

We might not find an immediate lasting friendship like the movies show. It might have even taken roommates this long to become comfortable with each other. Learning how to live with other people is a crucial skill even past the college years. It’s never too late to start working on roommate relationships. Well, at least until after studying for midterms.