At some point in their lives, it is inevitable that everyone will eventually come across someone that they won’t be able to get along with. For a lot of people, this person happens to be their roommate in college. Many people have their horror stories about awful college roommates and how they dealt with them. For those who don’t know how to deal with a particularly bad roommate situation, here are some tips on what to do.
It is always an uncomfortable situation when you and your roommate don’t get along, but not everyone handles the situation well. Some people will refuse to actually talk about their problems and would much rather leave a sticky-note. Dealing with a passive-aggressive roommate can be frustrating, especially when they leave a note on your white board every time you lose a strand of hair in the bathroom. The best thing to do is to try and keep your cool and talk about it face-to-face. Nobody needs that kind of negativity in their lives, especially when they don’t care if they forgot to replace the toilet paper roll again.
Sometimes it’s not the way someone treats their roommate that causes problems, sometimes it’s how much they want to share everything. Living with a glutton is never an ideal situation. It’s always annoying to come back to your room and find that your roommate has eaten all of your previously unopened bag of Doritos, or they decided that your new top looks great, and even better on them. In the event that you find yourself living with a glutton, the best thing to do is to discuss with your roommate what appropriate and inappropriate things to share are. Also, if you want them to ask before they use something of yours, make that clear to them as well.
One of the most frustrating problems with a roommate is when the problem is not the roommate but everyone else. It’s great when your roommate has a lot of friends and a really cute boyfriend. It’s significantly less great when those friends and boyfriend camp out in your room every hour of every day, especially when it gets in the way of the amount of work you can accomplish. Don’t let your roommate’s friends get in the way of what you need to do or the amount of sleep you get. Set your boundaries with your roommate, and don’t allow them to infringe on your rights as their roommate.
The important thing to keep in mind with all of these situations and more is if it gets out of hand, get help. If a situation gets too stressful or abusive in any way, ask your RA for help. That’s what they’re there for. Just remember, being a good roommate goes both ways.
