Most people going into their freshman year of college, have never lived with a roommate that wasn't a sibling. So the transition from having your own space, to sharing a room the size of closet with someone you've never met before move in day, can be both terrifying and exciting. Random roommates usually either become your best friend, or someone you'll never speak to again after you move out. Either way, you learn a lot about life, and yourself from your first roommate, whether you realize it or not.
1. That communication is key
One of the biggest lessons you learn from your first roommate, is how to communicate with others. There will be numerous times during your duration of living with someone, where things become difficult, and you won't like how something is done, or the fact that mold is growing on their side. It is important to address this discomfort, because being sick for two months straight because of airborne molecules is no fun.
2. How to make the best of a tiny space, and share it
Dorm rooms are notorious for being small, and feeling like you're living in a shoe box, but living with your first roommate teaches you how to make the best of this tiny space, and share it with another human who may have as much crap as you do, if not more. You learn to set boundaries and guidelines because not everyone lives the same way you do. You learn to be creative with storage and make the best of the situation.
3. How to see things from others perspectives
When conflict arises, it can be easy to put all the blame on the other person, but your first roommate teaches you to think about your own actions that may have led to the situation, and to put yourself in the others shoes. You learn to ask questions to gain an understanding from their point of view.
4. How to think before jumping to conclusions
It can be incredibly easy, and is human nature to only come up with one explanation for the actions of your roommate that pissed you off before your 8 a.m. but you learn to think about why they acted the way they did, or that they may be going through something.
5. To say "NO"
If you're like me, then you have a tendency to want to please everyone and with this comes the difficulty to say no. Doing so often puts one in a uncomfortable position, and makes sharing that tiny space with another person, even more difficult. But you learn that it is okay to say no, and that sometimes you have to say no and stand up for yourself for the sake of your well being.
6. Who you are as a person
While living with your roommate, you grow a lot as a person, not just because you are in a new chapter of life, but because of the fact that you're living with someone you barely know. You learn more about your communication skills, your habits, your prefrences, and your cleanliness, all things you may have never noticed before.
7. To embrace differences
Not everyone becomes best friends with their randomly matched roommate, and that is okay. Maybe y'all were just too different and couldn't find common ground, and that is okay too. It is okay to be completely different from someone else, and to celebrate these differences because not everyone is the same.
8. To appreciate alone time
One thing that is hard to find when you share a tiny shoe box, is alone time. So the second you have spare time, take off those pants, put on a face mask, pig out and jam to your favorite music that your roommate hates. Treat yourself.
In the end, whether your first roommate situation turned out great, or was a train wreck, look at the positives of the situation. Look to see how you grew as a person and see how you are different now, because if learned nothing and are the same person you were at the beginning of the year, then I'm not sure you're doing life right my friend.
