So You Have To Share A Bathroom

You did it, didn't you? You went for the full college experience. When you're in college, you don't get a lot of space. You share one room and one bathroom. I have since escaped the constant fear of forgetting to flush the toilet, because I live in an adult apartment with my own bathroom where I can do adult things like take a bubble bath and eat olives out of the jar without bothering my roommates.

I do still bother them. I sing very loudly as I eat my olives, but my bathroom habits aren't the root of the problem, and that's all that matters.

But before all of this, I did share a bathroom. I was lucky enough to share that bathroom with my best friend, but going from being the only child to sharing my most intimate space with another living person was still daunting. There are just certain things I never got over about having to share a bathroom and horror stories I've heard from friends during those two years I lived it.

Like having to keep your own soap in your own room? Also, you had to bring it with you in and out of the shower every time you used it?

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When did this become a world where people just steal each others' soap and hair products? Because that's not a world I want to live in.

No seriously, I am always afraid I forgot to flush the toilet.

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Every time.

Toilet Paper.

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I like to think of myself as a very fair person. Never quick to judge, always sees the benefit of the doubt, owns up to my mistakes, etc., and my roommate wants to be the "Doctor" part of "Doctors Without Borders" so you know she's a better person than most of the population. But no one can escape the temptation of avoiding toilet paper duty. Every one of you reading this has gone ham on a new toilet paper roll, only to start using smaller and smaller portions as the roll gets closer and closer to the brown tube of despair. It's even worse when there are two people in one bathroom. Two people hoping if they take just the right amount of toilet paper the other person will change the roll. Does it take more than 5 seconds to change a roll? No, of course not! But it's the principle of the thing. You or I came in here to do (sorry) one thing and neither of us are feeling like putting in the extra effort. Also who buys the toilet paper? What are the rules? Is there a system I don't know about? It's all so confusing.

Who takes out the trash?

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I get some people have a system but how weird is it to have a calendar of who takes out the bathroom trash and when? There's stuff in there. Like...like stuff. And both parties are guilty of using the trash can. It's one of those non-issue issues that keeps me up at night.

Always having to ask your roommate if it's OK if you take a shower is weird, right?

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Just something I noticed.

Thankfully I never had to deal with people using up all the hot water, hogging the bathroom for too long, weird smells, weird liquids and just general theft. But believe me, they happen.

I'm going to go back to eating my olives in my own bathtub now, but if you have terrifying and real bathroom stories please share them with this.