Going off to college means becoming independent, while also living with other people. Some people get the privilege of living in a dorm, some with communal bathrooms, while others are luckier and get to have their own bathroom. Being in my second year of college and living with seven girls last fall, four last spring, and now three wonderful ladies, I've come to realize that there are a few things that no matter how many you get to live with, some things always happen, no matter if it's been in a suite or apartment, both with their own bathrooms.
1. Dishes pile up in the sink until someone caves in and does them
We all do it from time to time, including myself. I have a tendency to just leave my dishes in the sink when I'm in a hurry and then forget to do them when I get back home, although our sink doesn't get as bad as this one. I also hate having to waste soap and time only washing a couple things instead of more.
2. Hair gets everywhere, and we're constantly having to clean hair out of the sink or put a work order in for the shower.
I try not to pull my hair out in the shower, so I know it's not mine in there, but when I do brush/comb it over the sink, I try to clean it up if there's a lot. I guess hair being everywhere is one of my pet peeves since I've been conditioned to think hair being everywhere is gross after my mom mentions it while doing my sister and I's laundry when I'm home.
3. Do chores at the beginning of the semester then become lazy/forget and don't do them.
All of the girls I live with are guilty of this, including me. At the beginning of the semester we made a schedule of what chores we would each do every week, but then we would forget and they wouldn't get done. After about a month, I started forgetting as well, so we tried revising the schedule to be every other week, but we still forget. So this past weekend, we each got down to work and cleaned our apartment, since it was beginning to become kind of gross to live in.
4. There is a constant battle over the thermostat.
Being from the north, and used to the cold, I like to have the thermostat set to about 70, a comfortable temperature. But all three of my housemates happen to be from places that don't get cold, so they like to set the temperature to about 72, which I'm fine with during the day, but at night, I usually can't fall asleep unless it's a little cooler and I get kind of sick as well. Also the best temperature to sleep in is between 62 and 70, so I try to set it for 70, but sometimes, someone else changes it. There's always a battle over the temp in our apartment. At least it's not set for 60 or 65 like some other people I know set theirs for. When I first saw this, I thought about doing something similar, but changing a few of the questions, but I didn't because I'm not that crass.
5. Trash and recycling piles up until someone gets fed up and takes it out.
Last year I was usually the one to take out the trash when it started to overflow, although it never got this bad, but this year has been better. I'm usually the one to let it pile up until it becomes too full or heavy, at which point someone has already taken it out by then.
6. We run out of toilet paper at least a few hours before the RA's are on call.
Whenever we're running low on toilet paper, I try to get more while the RA's are on call, but sometimes forget, so the next day we have to be creative and use tissues or paper towels.
7. Sometimes when you come home you find someone sleeping on the couch.
I've found two of my three roommates doing this, even though I've never done it. At least it's not the worst place to find someone sleeping.
8. Sometimes you come home to find your roommates have friends or a boyfriend over when you weren't expecting it.
Sometimes it can be awkward if you don't know them well, if at all, but if you do see someone you haven't seen in a while, it can be fun to catch up for a few minutes.
9. You end up sharing parts of your story and struggles that no one else may know.
You spend so much time together that it seems like you've known your roommates forever, which allows us to trust them in a deeper sense than other friends. I know I've shared things with my roommates that I wouldn't find myself telling very many other people, because we do have that trust with each other and can relate on certain things.
10. A lot of the time someone usually has their music playing on speaker.
I do have to admit, most of the time, it's probably me, but I try to do it when no one's home or at a volume that others won't hear if I'm doing homework or something. Other times, when there's someone else in the room who'd hear it, we usually ask if the other person would mind listening to some music and most of the time, the other person doesn't mind.
11. You get invited to do things you normally wouldn't and with people you normally don't hang out with or may not meet.
I'm very much an introvert. I either do my homework in my room or in the library. I love to spend my free time in my room watching tv/movies. I would rather spend my time relaxing on my own than out at a party or at a bar. Although I may be an introvert by nature, sometimes I do enjoy having some fun at a party or bar, but I wouldn't go finding one by myself. At least once so far, one of my roommates did decide to invite me to go to a pub with like 20 other people. It was a fun night out, when I would have just spent the night watching a movie. I have also gotten to meet people I wouldn't normally meet or get to know, because each one of us has different interests and groups of friends.
Living with others can be a fun experience, albeit a learning one. Sometimes there are things that roommates do that may annoy us, but most of the time, we all get along and have a good time doing it.
