Moving into dorms for the school year is stressful and full of uncertainty. Everyone has heard those roommate horror stories, but this is almost never the norm. Many people make great friends with their roommates, and some of these friendships last for the rest of their lives. Here are some of the things that can jeopardize your relationship with the person that will see you at your best and your worst.
1. "Borrowing" Their Stuff
There is nothing worse than coming home to your dorm room after a long day of classes to see your roommate using the exact thing you want to use. If you want to borrow something that belongs to your roommate, a word to the wise: always ask, every time. Ask until it’s annoying that you ask so much and they say you can use it whenever. Put yourself in their shoes when you ask, only if they said you could use them of course.
2. Not Cleaning Your Mess
Living in a dorm room is a strange experience. You pay to live in a room where you are at your most private, while always being observed by someone who might be a complete stranger. To maintain order, it’s usually best to pick sides of the room, which is a boundary that needs to be respected. Your space is yours, but at the same time their space belongs to them. If Mt. Garbage intrudes into their half, it could spell trouble.
3. Joining Team No Sleep
Every college student will tell you that all nighters are often a necessity in order to get that 16-kabillion point paper in on time. If you have to make this brave sacrifice, don’t make your roommate do it with you. Sleep is a college student’s best friend, so if your roommate is tired, let them sleep. If I remember correctly, keeping a college student from sleep is a federal crime.
4. Unannounced Visitors
Fair use of the room is key to keeping a good relationship with your roommate. Part of this is keeping your roommate in the loop when you have people over. Game nights are best with your friends, but for the roommate studying for tomorrow’s quiz, there’s nothing more distracting. Speaking from experience, it’s also really awkward to have a handful of unannounced strangers in your tiny home. If you are having guests, let your roommate know so they can make plans for themselves.
5. Amateur DJ Career
Stereos are awesome; music is awesome. The music blasting from the room three doors down the hall isn’t awesome. Unless your name is David Guetta there is no reason to play music for the entire hall.
6. Hitchhiking
If you want to be really good friends with your roommate, it’s important that they feel like they are more than a taxi service. I am not saying I didn’t ask for the occasional lift, but asking them for every little trip can grow tiresome. If you do have to call in a favor, be courteous and offer to help with gas.
7. Snooping
This one should really go without saying, but we have all done it. Your roommate has some weird stuff that you have never seen before, but respect their privacy. You wouldn’t want anyone snooping through your things. And, it’s likely that you will find something you didn’t want to see.
8. Stealing Food
Close behind sleep, food is something that college students hold most dear. I’ve seen people fight over who ate the last Oreo. Stealing anything, let alone food, can break up two roommates faster than a camera flash.
9. Mom-ing
Finally, the biggest thing that can break up two roommates is trying to be their parent. A lot of people live in the dorms to get away from their parents, not to get adopted by another one. Surprise chore charts, passive texts, and nagging about grades are just a few of the reasons people run from home; you don’t want to run into it at the dorms.
College is hard, and it really helps to have a friend you can count on for anything. If you don’t do the things on this list, you can start your year off with a great new ally.
