Living with one or more people teaches us so much. We learn a lot about ourselves, how to deal with unfamiliar situations and how to be considerate of others. Sometimes it can be miserable, but with the right people, it can be amazing. Whether you live with one roommate or multiple, the relationship you have with these people is unlike any you have with anyone else, and there are certain truths that tend to go along with that.
“What’s mine is yours” is completely accurate.
Almost nothing is off limits to borrow, and going out always includes tearing through each other’s closets to find the perfect outfit. Food is almost always fair game; when you finish the rest of your milk, you know someone will have a full jug waiting for you. This holds true for almost everything, and it’s generally an unspoken agreement for everyone involved.
No subject is off limits to discuss.
“I haven’t pooped in three days,” “I look like I could be pregnant right now” or “it’s been a while since I showered last” are just a few of the many topics that are perfectly acceptable to be brought up whenever necessary. As you grow in your relationship with your roommates, you pretty much become your own little family, and you start to treat each other as such. This means being open and having no reservations when it comes to what you need to talk about.
You can always be yourself.
By living with other people for a long period of time, everyone involved starts to show their true selves. Your roommates are hopefully people you can be weird around and know that they'll accept you regardless, and hopefully share in that weirdness with you. Once you get to a certain point after living together for a while, it takes too much effort to put on a performance not be yourself.
Honesty is the only policy.
When it comes to the people you live with, you should feel comfortable enough to be honest with them when something unfortunate happens. Whether you borrowed something and lost it or broke something that isn’t yours, hopefully everyone involved understands that things happen, and at least you had enough respect for them to be honest. It’s better to deal with what happened than to build up anger and resentment toward each other.
FOMO is real, and it is strong.
The Fear of Missing Out happens often, and it happens to us all. Whether you have a big exam to study for and they’re doing something fun, or they’re simply going to work out, you want in on it. In these situations, being alone tends to feel like you’re missing out. This becomes more troublesome when you end up missing them when they’re gone for even a short amount of time.
You’re never alone.
In anything. When you’re prepping for that new job interview, getting ready for a first date or simply in the mood for watching movies on a Friday night, there’s someone by your side. Your achievements, failures, heartaches and joys are theirs, and vice versa. Even the times when you think you want to be alone, they’ll come around and show you just how wrong you were in thinking that.
Having a strong relationship with your roommate or roommates is a beautiful thing. They’re the ones that, at least for a year, you share not only your home with, but also your life. They’re the only people other than your family that you spend a significant amount of time with in a living situation. When you find the five things listed above to be true, you’ll know you have a great roomie relationship. And if you find yourself lucky enough to have roommates that are also some of your best friends, you're in for a great year.
