Roommate driving you crazy? Don’t wait around while something he or she keeps doing gets under your skin. If you can’t resolve things it may be time to get out but you owe it to yourself and your roommate to at least address the issue. Take action. Your room is your home away from home, it should be a refuge but for too many students it can be just one more thing that stresses them out. Keeping your mouth shut, hoping your roommate stops turning on the lights when you’re sleeping, using your stuff without asking, or will magically quit being a slob, neat-freak, whiner, or whatever is a little silly right? If they don’t know their behavior’s bothering you, how would they know to change it? If your behavior was bothering them wouldn’t you want to know? (If the answer to that question is no then they might not be the problem but the topic of being a good roommate is another post.) It doesn’t have to be a big confrontation but it does take a little courage. If there are a number of issues, you may want to pull out that contract they gave you at orientation and suggest you and roommate go through it together. Having trouble finding the right words? Talk to your RA. RA’s are there to help with roommate issues and will most likely have some pretty solid advice.
Have a roommate horror story or a tale of compromise reached? Comment or e-mail me at nora@bustedhalo.com
