By Foster Nicholas | Reporter
For many students, college is the first time they are away from their parents and living with other students. College is designed to be a bridge between fun and the real world, and one of the only things that can make this experience bad is unpleasant roommates.
Almost every student hears a story told by someone in their family describing the crazy roommate who eventually dropped out. It’s tough to accept that there is a possibility you’re rooming with someone just like that. However, most of the time, these stories are widely exaggerated for comedic purposes. But what can be done when living with a bad roommate?
The easiest and most cliche way to deal with a situation is to simply be removed from it and take some time alone. Whether that be going to a place to study or grabbing a snack, taking some time to de-stress and get back in the right mindset can be very beneficial. However, getting space is really only a temporary fix and isn’t necessarily the best solution if real issues are happening.
If a situation arises where it feels nearly unbearable to live with a roommate, how can it be handled? One of the most difficult things to do is confront the person doing something irritating.
It’s not difficult because of the confrontation, but he tone that has to be used in the situation. When confronting a roommate, it’s important to be respectful and stray away from being passive aggressive or trying to retaliate in any way.
The importance of a calm, collected state when approaching a roommate cannot be overstated. If the conversation stays calm, then there are much better odds the other person will actually listen and the situation can be resolved.
Now, in situations where roommates have stolen personal items, partied in the room without consent or possibly done even worse, then neither of the above strategies are going to work. While these for sure sound like one of those bizarre tales our parents tell us right before we move off to college, it happens to be a reality for some students.
As the semester goes on, students begin to realize that the best way to handle a sticky roommate situation is to start living outside of classes and staying in the dorm. They became more involved in outside-of-class activities and make new friends, who eventually welcome them into their dorm on occasion, as well as talking to proper administration if needed.
College is supposed to be fun, so please don’t let a little roommate drama ruin the whole experience. Other small fixes for roommate drama include buying your own things so borrowing isn’t necessary, learning to accept not speaking to the roommate, not making any weird adjustments to your schedule to fit around a bad roommate or make sure you know what your side of the room looks like.
Be kind, maybe it will change,and of course you can always ask for a roommate reassignment.
Don’t let someone else determine how good of an experience college can be. Sometimes roommates can be the worst, but that doesn’t mean that your experience will be.
