In this day and age, college is known as many things. It is known as a time and place in your life when one can experience many aspects of life like discovering new things about themselves. For example: you can experience sex for the first time and get drunk or have your first alcoholic beverage. It can also be a time when you attempt to successfully do laundry or end up with bleach stained jeans and tie dye colored whites. Cook for yourself or go broke on takeout food. You need to fill out important documents, pay bills and even have to hold your first job. But one of the biggest experiences in college which could make or break you is having a roommate.
Now going to college you're almost always guaranteed a roommate, whom in most cases is a complete stranger. Of course you filled out the roommate questionnaire, emphasized how clean you want your roommate to be, how carefree you are about who your roommate will be or you may have simply requested that your roommate have the same major as you. While some of us may have been more lucky than others being paired with someone who you connect with and kept that connection after freshmen year, yet somehow, ended up with a roommate who was a complete polar opposite which could be a recipe for disaster. So this article will go over five of the most important things you have to have in common or need to have an understanding on in order to live peacefully with your roommate.
Hygiene
If it's one thing that you and your roommate must have in common, it is definitely the same level of hygiene or at least similar. If you have a roommate who's side of the room smells dangerously similar to a public restroom, while yours looks like you hire a maid every week to clean, then it is almost certain that there will be conflict. Or you could be the messy roommate. Whatever side of the argument you are on, you must both have an understanding of room cleanliness. If you have a messy roommate, ask them to clean up after themselves, or take the initiative to help them clean. You may say "it's not my room why do I have to clean up after them," it is very true that it is their stuff and responsibility, but it is as much of your room as it is theirs. So why not come together and keep it clean or keep it dirty? As long as you both are comfortable in your own space, that's all that matters.
Sleep Schedule
This is also one of the most important things you and your roommate need to have an understanding on. You may be the early bird type while your roommate is the night owl, or vice versa, but that doesn't necessarily mean you both have to have the same sleeping patterns. The simple solution to this is, if one is sleeping while the other is awake, stay quiet. Or simply just leave the room. You are much more productive doing homework outside of your dorm room than staying in. There are way too many distractions that exist doing work in your dorm. That includes phone calls as well. Your roommate probably doesn't want to hear you arguing all night/morning with your significant other so just give yourself and roommate some privacy and leave the room when you're on the phone.
Same Major
If you find yourself not having any way to connect with your roommate, there is almost always an immediate connection with someone who is the same major as you. It's like the old saying, "two heads are better than one," so who wouldn't want a roommate with the same major as you? Helping each other navigate through the homework, projects and presentations you might both have to endure for the semester is never a bad thing.
Music Taste
Music is always a great way to connect with people. If you have a roommate that shares the same music taste as you, all the other issues might just go out the window. After all, who doesn't like jamming out to loud music with their friends before a nights out? So if all else fails, just ask for a roommate with the same music taste.
Guests
Everything can be going great with your roommate. They can be just as clean as you or even cleaner, have the same music taste, same major, and pretty much sleep through an earthquake. If you or your roommate constantly has guests over, this could possibly cause a dispute between the two of you. It's like the old saying goes, "two is enough, three is company." Meaning don't be the roommate who's always having the room jam-packed with all your friends all day every day. Try to have a rotation, one weekend or day is yours and the other is your roommates day. They could possibly want to invite some of their friends over or want to have a study session with Jessica from their accountant class but can't because you have the whole squad in the room. So just be courteous with the room occupancy.
