Going away to college is scary enough as is. For the few months leading up to move-in day the only things going through your head are thoughts surrounding the adequacy of your wardrobe, is it cool to use a backpack or should you take a bag? What exactly is rush week? And how am I supposed to get a job? Now while you're stressing about all that, throw another person into the mix. One who sleeps across the room from you. The small room. The outrageously tight space with the tiny sink and nowhere to put the microwave and single-cup coffee maker you bought specifically for freshman year. The good news is, you're not the only one. Unfortunately, this happens to all of us but somehow we survive it, some better than others I should note. There are a few ways your relationship can go with your new roommate: the outcome can only be determined by you.
1. The Best of Friends
Freshman year, It didn't take my roommate and I very long to learn that too much time together would be detrimental for our relationship as roommates. Our suite-mates (the two girls on the other side of the bathroom) however, became the best of friends. They did everything together. They ate together, they joined the same organizations, and even the same sorority and that really did work for them. In the rare case that your new roomie likes all the same things as you, maybe it was destiny and you were meant to be BFFs from the start. My advice though would be to be careful because those two really are the rare case and sometimes smothering your roommate with too much of your time can be overwhelming for the both of you.
2. The Disaster
Unfortunately, not every roommate situation ends in best friends. Some don't end up being friendly at all. Sometimes you end up with the worst first roommate in the world. Instead of explaining how terrible your potential roommate could be, I want you to imagine this: You come back to your dorm after a hard workout at the gym. You and your roommate have talked about picking up after yourself and you both agreed to do so. Well, you had a really tough day and a tougher workout and to top it off, your class starts in 10 minutes and it's on the other side of campus. You forget to put your shoes away and you dart out to class. When you arrive back at your dorm it reeks of vinegar... odd. You then see your shoes out, go to put them away, and they are FULL of vinegar. VINEGAR. This was, in fact, a true story. This was the beginning of the cataclysmic events that would soon follow in dorm room 703b. Do not fret though, this was the other end of the extreme spectrum of roommate situations. All I can say is, don't be the vinegar roommate.
3. Solid Acquaintances
In my opinion, this is the best way to go. They say "don't make your roommate your best friend" for a reason. The rules to this are simple. Keep it casual, make your own friends, do your own thing, clean up your own messes and at the end of the night you've got a cool friend to talk to about it all. Simple.
4. The Slob
What do you do if your new roomie leaves their dirty underwear all over the floor? Or their half eaten bowl of oatmeal by the sink for 2 weeks? What do you do if your roommate walks into your dorm room with a cage to confine their new pet rat? The answer is: who the hell knows. There is a pretty good chance your new roommate will be dirty and disgusting, most of them have never lived without a parent cleaning up after them, but the good news is, they probably won't force you into coparenting a rodent. Play it cool, clean up after yourself, a little bit of germs won't kill you.
5. The Thief
Now, I don't mean this too literally. You and your roomie actually share a bedroom... they can only steal so much without you seeing it. What they may steal comes down to the more basic necessities: food, toothpaste, chargers, face washes, and most importantly, your clothes. There's nothing more annoying than having the perfect outfit in mind and finding it in your roommates dirty laundry when you go to put it on. Good luck with that one.
College is great and you will make some of the best friends of your life but sometimes life gives you sugar, other times you get salt. Make the most out of what you've got and remember, you're SO going to laugh at this one day.
