Insert Guide To College Roommates Here

If you're going to college, you're going to have roommates - whether you are on campus or off campus, whether it's 5 other people or just your fish, Skippy - you will 9 times out of 10 be living with someone else. If it's your first year moving away from home and living with complete strangers, the thought can be pretty daunting.

Every roommate that you have will be different (unless you request to have the same one every year), every situation will be different. This being said, there really is no exact guide one can give to surviving your college roommates. I think the biggest thing is to be flexible, but keep your ground. I'm the type of person that is non-confrontational, so I will try to stay out of other peoples' ways and be a decent roommate - you know, thoughtful, clean, polite, etc. I keep to myself. That still didn't stop my roommates from first semester from automatically hating me. For some reason I had a target on my back from the moment we all started facebook messaging at the beginning of the summer. Maybe they thought I was weird, maybe it was because I'm older than them, maybe it's just cuz catty bitches gon' be catty bitches... I don't really know. All I know is that out of my 3 roommates, only one liked me.

At the end of the semester, she moved out. At that point I was like, eff no am I staying here. So I ended up moving to another place across campus for the second semester. I think know it was mutually appreciated among all of us. One of them tweeted "that just made my day 10 times better. #thankgod #goodbye" So yes, needless to say, we didn't get along. I pretty much went the whole semester without exchanging words with them - only when necessary.

College Rule #2
It's normal not to get along with your roommates. Just try to be civil with each other, and if it really makes you uncomfortable to be in your own room, talk to your RA or Housing Director. You shouldn't have to live somewhere where you don't feel welcomed. Remember, it's your room, too.

So for all of you first years who were a little shaky about the idea of moving in with strangers that I just scared, don't worry. The second semester, I moved in with people my own age. They were all nice and we all got along just fine the first few months. I ended up sharing a bedroom with one other girl - Casshole - and we became best friends. We started doing everything together, and talking all the time, and basically found out that we are so similar, yet different enough that as roommates and friends we really worked. Unfortunately, by the end of the semester, there were disagreements and arguments and guerrilla warfare going on, that I tried my best to stay out of. Once again, I'm non-confrontational, and I didn't have a problem with any of my roommates. I thought they all had valid points, and I certainly liked all of them well enough.

College Rule #3
Communication between roommates is super important. If you have a problem, talk to your roommates about it and try to work it out... don't be manipulative.

The last day of the semester, I was a little hungover (only slightly...). I was wearing a dress to my final as "business casual" for a presentation and whatnot. This happens to be my favorite white dress, the one whose zipper always gets stuck. I had each of my roommates try to zip it up for me, but it kept getting stuck half way. There I am standing in the bathroom, the temperature getting warmer and warmer, my stomach constantly being pulled at each time the zipper hit its sticking spot, all the while feeling more and more hungover. It got to the point where I had to say "I need you to stop." She asked if I was hurting her and I said, "No, I think I gotta throw up." and then proceeded to run into the bathroom and puke. She left for her final while I was puking, and I never saw her again.

College Rule #4
There is nothing classier than saying bye to a roommate by throwing up. Drink responsibly, kids.

Sometimes, you'll get really lucky, and move into a room or hall where everybody all hangs out and becomes friends. This happened with my boyfriend - his whole hall became friends and did everything together. They would keep their doors unlocked and just walk into each others' rooms. It was cool, and I was always jealous of that. If you make good friends with your roommates your first year, then by all means, room with them again. Even consider moving off campus, because it's nice not having people breathe down your neck 24/7.

Some of you are thinking, Well Jayy, I'm not going away to college. So this doesn't apply. Well sure, but I hope my fun little anecdotes put a smile on your face for even just a second. In actual reality though, you still will be living with people, most likely. Just because you've lived with your family for the first 17 or 18 years of your life, doesn't mean that things won't change once you start going to college. For example, your parents will start yelling at you not just because of your grades, but because if you fail out by skipping classes or not getting good enough grades, then you just flushed a bunch of money right down the toilet. It's super great. Be excited for those arguments.

Essentially, being a roommate is a responsibility. Be respectful. Be clean. Be conscious of others. Be open to communication. And definitely don't be that catty bitch you were in high school. You're in college now - grow up - people don't want to deal with that shit, and they certainly don't want to live with it.

Peace. Love. Roommates.

Categories: College, Guide, Roommates