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here's an article about roommates, but more importantly watch this vine

I, like many incoming Freshmen, found my soon-to-be roommate on Facebook. Ladies, don’t get me wrong that there’s no harm in rooming with a friend from high school or even an acquaintance from your city, but I decided to take this whole ‘college’ thing by the horns and figured I’d expand my horizons.

My froomie and I, let’s call her Sara, seemed to hit it off right away. We texted every single day from February til move in. I knew all about this girl’s ex before I even knew what her voice sounded like. That’s the digital age for ya, folks.

The first few days that Sara and I lived together felt similar to what I imagine a blind date to be like. Each of us were silently wondering if we had met the other’s expectations.

I pondered this - tried to step into Sara’s brain and take a look around. What did she think of me?

My Facebook made me look, for lack of a better word, normal. In the back of my mind I always imagine a future employer or my friend’s mom or something looking at my Facebook. I try to keep it pretty wholesome. Same with Instagram. But Twitter? Oh honey, now that’s the real me. I am briefly horrified by the thought of acquaintances perusing my Twitter, although my handle is my own name. I have nothing to hide, really, besides some vulgarity that most people seem to find pretty entertaining. However, I thought if Sara saw some of the things I tweeted, or the fact that my name is ‘djfriendlydad’ she would instantly drop me as a roommate. I wouldn’t blame her. It’s a wonder that I didn’t clean up my Twitter prior to Rush week. Guess it just goes to show that the house that chose me truly loved me for me, thanks guys. Anyway.

I couldn’t dwell on Sara discovering my real personality for too long because NO ONE is their true self during the trying times that are those first couple weeks of school.

I specifically remember the day my parents dropped me off at my shoebox of a dorm on August 14th. I watched as they tearfully drove away and distinctly remember thinking to myself, “This is the weirdest day of my life because every aspect of my life is about to change.”

No matter how you find your roommate, there’s bound to be pros and cons.

I would describe myself as a chiller. It takes a lot to get me riled up, so I figured Sara and I would have little to no difficulty when it came to negotiations. The thing is, that “nothing bothers me, man!” attitude can really come back and bite ya.

Let’s put that into perspective and say Sara likes the heat on when she’s sleeping while I prefer to blast cold air. First-semester-me would passive-aggressively tiptoe over to the thermostat in the middle of the night to change the temp how ~I~ want it. New-year-new-me would approach Sara like a normal human and say, hey, let’s compromise. Maybe the thermostat should be set at 70 degrees for starters. Maybe I could invest in a fan. It should be an easy fix, but in such a small living space, little pet peeves can turn into big ones real quick. If you’re totally unbothered by your living situation: congrats, you and your roommate have a great dynamic. If you have no qualms about your living situation but refuse to take ownership as to why your roommate keeps nagging you, sorry, you’re the problem. I was the latter for a good chunk of the first semester.

Sprawling my makeup around everywhere, inviting my friends over, and leaving pizza boxes on the floor are not cute little ways of showing that I’m just a down to earth gal, it’s annoying and disrespectful to whoever I’m sharing a room with.

Setting ground rules is absolutely essential, especially during those awkward first days of being roomies. Being assertive is different than being a bitch. Asserting yourself and telling your roommate that you don’t care about sharing clothes as long as they ask first is a-okay. That way you can go home for the weekend in peace knowing your crop tops will not be tampered with.

Whether you’re living with your best friend from high school, a Facebook approved stranger, or a total roll of the dice rando roomie, just know that conflict is inevitable. Your true colors are going to show through no matter what, so best to embrace it than put on a passive aggressive front. Rooming in college is different than sharing a room with your little sister. Sure, it would be nice to take the easy way out and say, “See ya never!” when you and your roomie are in a tiff, but if life worked like that then we’d all live alone and be miserable. I also wouldn’t be able to call my current roommate one of my best friends if this were the case. Live it up; dorm life inevitably produces some interesting stories.


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