Hello friends and happy Wednesday! It is crazy to think that September is about to end and we are heading into our fourth week of classes. You all will come to find that college time does not function like real world time. We are at a very specific point in our lives. All that is expected of us is to learn and I think that is a beautiful thing because the real world has a tendency to be unfair and unforgiving. But right here and now, all we have to focus on is learning the rules of life as they apply to our (hopefully) wildly successful journeys. Those rules include being a decent human being to whoever your living with. With that in mind I now give to you my thoughts on how to be a good roommate vs. a bad one!
VS.
Scenario 1:I have an 8 am. class.
Good Roommate: You have an 8.am? I’ll put my headphones in and turn off the light. actually you know what I have a lot of work to do, I might go to the library so you can get some sleep!
Bad Roommate: WHAT DID YOU SAY?!?! I’M SORRY I CANT HEAR YOU OVER MY DEATH METAL. MOVE OVER BRO I CANT SEE THE SCREEN. TOTALLY DESTROYING THIS 7TH GRADER AT CALL OF DUTY.(turns up music)
Scenario 2:We Share a mini fridge.
Good Roommate: Hey man, I labeled everything that I want to save for myself in the fridge, everything else is fair game! And if you really are in need of sustenance just ask and you can have some of my food, I’m not gonna let you starve.
Bad Roommate: (with mouth full of your food) Dude, how could you expect me not to eat your mother’s delicious cooking, that is a crime as far as I am concerned. Ill get you food. . . soon.
Scenario 3: We live in a quad the size of a double.
Good Roommate: I want to figure this room out so that we can maximize floor space! We should all be able to have our own personal space . I will make sure my side of the room is clean so that the room doesn’t look so muddled.
Bad Roommate: My stuff is going to go right here! (Dumps things in the middle of the room). . . What? I am a beautiful peacock , you need to let me stretch my wings!
Scenario 4: I want to have some friends over for a bit.
Good Roommate: Cool man, no worries! I always clear it with you when I have people over just like we agreed to at the beginning of the year. I might even chill here and see if I can make some new friends. Whoa, my side is a bit messy, let me take care of that before they get here.
Bad Roommates: huh? What? Oh I’m sorry, I did not notice you talking. I am still amazed at the sheer amount my side of the room smells. Yes you can have people over, but only if they can handle the stench for more than 5 minutes, then they can stay.
Scenario 5: When I come back from a weekend off campus.
Good Roommate: Hey man, I sent you a text asking if I could borrow your laundry detergent. I put it back right where you left it, thanks!
Bad Roommate: Hey, I may or may not have used your razor to shave over the weekend… can I keep it?
A lot of those scenarios may seem like funny examples but they are taken from my experiences as well as those of my friends. What you all should take away from this blog is something very simple. A rule most of you have been taught since preschool. The Golden Rule : Treat others the way you would like to be treated. If you think about it, that one rule could actually fix most issues between roommates.
Of course if you are having some serious issues that cannot be resolved through mediation contact your RA or the office of residence life and they will give you the next step to resolving the issue. Hope this was fun and gave you all some perspective.
-Migs