College is an interesting time. You get the opportunity to try new things and figure out what you like and what you don’t like. Through this journey, you get the chance to live in a dorm and then eventually a house or an apartment. The question is who are you going to live with? This can be an interesting question because there are different options.

You can live with your best friend and pray that nothing stupid comes between you when living together or you can live with complete random’s and hope it works out for the best. I have had experiences from both sides and I can list the pros and cons to both.

From the time you are a freshman to your senior year a lot happens. Interests shift and friend groups change. Some people stay friends with the same people all four years and others change friend groups each year. It really just depends on your attitude going into it. Living with your best friend can be so fun. It’s endless sleepovers and wine nights. You get ready together to go out and most likely share the same friend group.

The only thing is no one tells you about the negative aspects. What happens when they don’t do their dishes for weeks at a time or leave a mess everywhere they go? Are you going to buy toilet paper or are they going to? There is a lot that goes into living with someone and it's important to establish ground rules ahead of time, something I wish I would have done from the beginning.

When living in a dorm with someone ground rules are especially important to establish. It is easy to have miscommunication when you share a box with someone and they are your best friend. It is important to start off with expectations that you have of them and then vise-versa. This will help keep the room organized and frustrations at a minimum.

When it comes to living in a house with multiple roommates ground rules are even more crucial. Sit down with everyone in the house and list the things that you would like to see from your roommates and have them share as well. That way from the beginning everyone understands what the house expectations are.

Living with roommates can be a lot of fun, but it isn’t everything. If you don’t have a close relationship that is perfectly fine as well. Not everyone can live together. Sometimes it is more fun not to live with your best friends because then when you get together its something exciting and you have new things to share. There are many different perspectives when it comes to the roommate situation. Make sure you evaluate your perspectives before signing a lease.