I was so excited when I was excepted to SUNY Cortland. I was going to be transferring in Spring of my Sophomore year. I was going to be living in an apartment that was considered on campus housing. I am a shy person, and I wasn't going to have just one roommate, but I was going to have three of them. Not too long after I was placed in an apartment I got a message on Facebook from one of the ladies I would be living with. She seemed nice and she made me feel a little better about the situation. Her name was Nicole. Little did I know this girl would become one of my best friends.
I love Nicole, but I can not say the same about all of the roommates I have had. Since my first semester at Cortland I have had a total of 8 different roommates. That means a lot of different personalities, habits, and attitudes. I've learned a few things about myself and about living with others while being in college.
First off, I never really fit in when I was in high school. I had a few friends, but I didn't ever have anything in common with them. Going into college I was shy and scared to just be myself. Living with people is so different then just seeing people in class. When you live with someone, you really get to know them. Everyone is different. We all have strange habits. I learned most people are a little quirky. So, it's fine to be weird! Embrace it.
Another thing I learned was an important lesson from probably my least favorite roommate. One of my first roommates I ever had decided she just didn't like me. At first I just went with it like I always have in the past. If she wanted to say something mean to me, I let her. After awhile living with someone that is constantly tearing you down really takes a toll on you. Towards the end of that first year I gained the courage to tell her how I felt. I let her know how she made me feel, and that doesn't make me a bad person. It's okay to stand up for yourself.
Just because you are roommates does not mean you are going to be friends. Of course you hope that will happen, but it doesn't work out that way. Sometimes you just can't make the friends thing work, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't still be nice. Ask them how they are doing, let them know you are there if they need you.
Lastly, I am not the most tidy person in the world. Sometimes I can be lazy, but when you are sharing a space you have to remember not everyone is okay with dishes being left in the sink. Fortunately for me I get my own room, because if I had to share a room with my roommates they would probably all hate me.
Living with people you don't know is all part of the college experience. You may get someone crazy, you may just meet your best friend. It's mostly just chance. You don't have control over your roommates, but you do have control over yourself. Be the roommate you would want to have.
