Choosing a roommate seems like a simple task. You think it'll just be easy to co-exist in a house, apartment, or dorm with someone... Until you actually live with that person and realize there is so much more to it than that. After all, the person you live with will be the person that you ultimately see the most often (depending on your schedules of course). You might see them when you wake up and you'll probably see them before you go to bed, and places built for two people to live are generally only so big.
If you live with someone hostile or someone who is consistently in a foul mood, it will eventually start bringing you down. At first, you may think you can tolerate it and that it can be avoided. However, you'll find yourself in a great mood until suddenly you're not anymore because their constant flow of negativity will overpower your positive vibes. They say you become like the 5 people that you spend the most time with. If you're going to choose another person to live with and make them one of your 5 people, make sure you're choosing someone who will only add value to your life, and not take away from it.
In some cases roommate pairing is random, but when it comes to choosing, really sit back and think "Could I live with this person every single day?" You have to ask yourself if your two personalities and lifestyles can come together under one roof. If you choose a roommate who doesn't like you to have friends over on the weekends and that's what you like to do, it will be difficult to compromise. There will be arguments between any two people when they've spent a lot of time together, but when they are two very different people there will be more arguments than good times.
It's important to choose a roommate who matches your effort to make things work and will sit down and talk about things and compromise. No, you won't agree on everything, but when you don't it's important to have someone who will talk calmly about things and work to find some common ground. If you find yourself with someone who is quick to yell and have a screaming match, it will only steal from your happiness. There are enough things in our lives to stress us out, the last thing anyone needs is to live with someone who drains them.
Someone may seem nice enough until you live together. That's when true colors come out and all walls come down. Once they do, it will be difficult to find a way out especially when a lease has been signed or you're in college and there's nowhere for you to go or it costs to move. You wouldn't choose a random spouse to live life with, so take the time to find the right roommate to live with for a year or a semester because it can affect your studying, sleep, happiness, or college experience.
