myUsearch blog

To be perfectly honest, I was nervous about living with a perfect stranger before moving into my college dorm room. I tend to have unique tastes and interests and some people think I’m a bit… odd. For instance, I suspected that my roommate wouldn’t appreciate my action figure collection (which includes John Lennon, Edward Scissorhands and Jack the Ripper) or my choice of wall art (I have posters of Dexter, Chicago, Sweeney Todd and The Rocky Horror Picture Show in my bedroom). A major bonus of the residence that my college offers is that the dorm units are like apartments. Each unit includes a full kitchen, full bathroom and two separate bedrooms. Each bedroom comes with a desk, double bed, TV (with basic cable), set of drawers, closet and night table. So, even if I didn’t get along with my roommate, we could always escape to separate bedrooms. But thankfully, that’s not the case.

(This is my dorm kitchen. Photo by Jillianne Hamilton.)

College dorm life, in general, isn’t like what they show in the movies. (But I’m just going by personal experience.) I’ve not once seen two shirtless frat boys running through the hall with a keg. There isn’t a huge party every night. Drunk girls don’t puke in the hall (but there was once some vomit in the elevator). I don’t think there’s even been a prank pulled (except for the recent theft of a couch from the second floor common room). Yes, there are parties in the common rooms on Fridays and Saturdays but a lot of residents just go to bars where nobody is going to tell them to keep it down. And yes, it is possible to sleep in a dorm room. Of course, our building is only a couple years old while many dorms are practically pre-historic and have thinner walls.

My point is this: visit a college dorm (preferably during the evening or on a weekend) before deciding to live there. If you’re the type who likes quiet, you might want to consider an apartment instead.

I didn’t get in contact with my roommate Amanda until about two weeks before school started. When I arrived at the dorm, boxes in my arms, she’d already arrived and left with her parents to do some shopping. I didn’t actually get to meet her until the evening. It was very awkward at first, but after an exhausting day of unpacking, we just opened up and had an awkward laugh about our emotional parents. Together, we decided where we would keep our kitchen stuff and bathroom stuff. To this day, we keep almost everything separate. I keep my stuff in the lower cabinets while she gets the higher shelves I can’t even reach.

Amanda and I are very different, generally. I like alternative and indie rock while she has a fondness for radio-friendly pop and country. I’m a small town girl, but born to live in a city; she was born and raised in the Canadian capital city, but doesn’t think she’d like to go back to the big city. She’s 5 feet, 10 inches tall while I’m a few inches short of 5 feet. (True story.)

But we get along better than I thought we would. I think our differences make it easier for us to get along. We have a couple of the same friends but mostly go our different ways when socializing. She’s in Culinary Arts, so she has several friends from her classes while I love hanging out with my Journalism pals.

Despite the fact that we get along quite well, I’ve learned a couple things from living with a roommate. I hope they can help you out.

1. Be honest on your residence application. Many college dorms will try to match roommates by interests and how they prefer to live. It’s important to be honest on these applications. If you drink regularly, say so. If you smoke, say so. If you like a tidy living space, say so. Otherwise, you might end up living with someone who is just too different from you.
2. Avoid living with your best friend. One of my best friends from high school lives two doors down from me in the dorm. We briefly discussed living together and quickly decided it was a bad idea. It’s awesome having her so close, but I think our friendship wouldn’t be as strong if we actually cohabited.
3. Set out ground rules as soon as possible. If you’re particular about something, state this right away- before move-in day, if possible. For me, I requested that Amanda not help herself to my food, especially my milk. (I know that sounds strange… but I love milk. Ask anyone.)
4. Be open-minded and respectful. I’m not a religious person but my roommate is a dedicated Catholic and attends mass every Saturday evening. Respect the morals, beliefs and religion of your roommate, even if they don’t match your own.
5. Be considerate. Don’t play music too loud, try to be quiet if your roommate is napping and don’t even think about stealing your roommate’s snacks. Totally uncool.
6. If something is bugging you, don’t bottle it up. First of all, let your roommate know if they’re doing something that annoys you. Unless they’re a real jerk, they’ll probably try to stop. If you keep it inside, you’ll eventually blow up at your roommate for something insignificant like leaving their light on. (Not that I would know…)

For more info on being a good roommate, visit this article at wikiHow.

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