Living with a roommate isn't all that hard. What is hard is living in peace with your roommate. Yea, you might say he/she is your best friend but you guys are bound to face some struggles when you toe that roommates line.
In an ideal situation, you and you're new roomie should become best friends. Merge your furniture together seamlessly, chase the girls together, discuss the guys together but who are we kidding.
In a realistic situation, you guys tend to keep to yourselves with very few shared interests (you'd be lucky to find a roommate who shares almost all the same interests with you), the pile of plates in the sink that seems to get larger by each day irritates you, you come back each day to find strangers in your room or couch.
You get frustrated, yea.
Just so you know, it isn't all that easy on college students especially if you're living on campus. Imagine sharing a room with seven different people, that's seven different characters in the room, seven different personalities, seven different people's stuffs all over the place, seven different people's cohabiting habits you will have to endure till you can endure no more.
A mess, right? Not to worry though, below are some ways you can live seamlessly with your roommate.
- Come to terms on some ground rules
Have a conversation about your living habits, about how you want the room to be treated. It pays. whether your roommate is your friend or some random person, have that talk.
You might not want him to use your hair conditioner but might be cool if he uses you utensils.
Have a common ground on things.
Being aware of each other's needs, will make your stay together more peaceful.
- Learn to Compromise
Whatever relationship you are in life, be it dating, marriage, friendship or even being roommates, compromise is key.
Try not letting your pride block your view about your roommate and complicate otherwise easy situations. You know you do no need the entire top shelve in the fridge, so while make your life difficult by insisting you do.
Learn to let go sometimes so you can have peace of mind.
- Do Not Steal (collect) Your Roommate's Stuff
Yea, I know it's tempting but try not to take your roommate's toiletries or groceries without asking first.
You might think "He won't notice if I take this" or "I'll just take this once and won't take again".
He/she might just notice when you do the former and he might not be happy when you do the latter.
So, try as much as possible to get your own stuff.
- Address Your Issues
Imagine living in an awkward space with your roommate because you've got a bottled up issue.
Avoiding one another, tiptoeing around the house, these are things you can prevent if you'd just bring yourself to discussing them with your roommate.
Why go outside to vent your frustrations when you can easily have a productive conversation with your roommate.
- Respect Each Others Space
In any cohabiting situation, space is important. Whether you're living with your roommate or your spouse or your family, the need for space can not be overstated.
Set your boundaries.
Your roommate may not be completely okay with you entering the room without knocking, other roommate might not. Respect their space, and assert your right to yours.
This might be the most important tip of all mentioned here, so try having a frank discussion with your roommate about this.
Remember: Best friends do not always make the best roommates and strangers do not always make for the worst.