The Roommate

One of the most exciting, nerve-racking, and unique parts of freshman year-- something that can be wonderful and frustrating at the same time-- is living with a roommate. You might have experience with that sort of thing, if you've shared a room with a sibling before. But even that is extremely different than sharing a room with a friend, or in a lot of cases, a complete stranger. You might end up leaving freshman year as best friends, worst enemies, on good terms, on bad terms, with a whole new outlook on life, with a whole new wardrobe of your roommate's clothes or with tons of clothes missing... whatever it may be, living with a roommate is great practice for the future, because let's face it, you are probably going to live with someone at some point in your life. And also, you don't really have a choice as an IU freshman ;)

I'm lucky to have had these amazing roommates for my past two years here at IU.. Lauren and Taylor ♥

Things that are very important to keep in mind for the next few years as you live with roommates: First off, respect your roommate's space and personal items. My freshman year roommate and I made an agreement on how we want to share/borrow each others' stuff. First off, we were both pretty good about letting each other borrow clothes and other things, but our number one rule was to ASK FIRST. No matter what the item is, or for however short of a time you need to borrow it, it will save you a lot of trouble if you just ask your roommate first. "You weren't there when I needed to borrow it" is not an excuse. Welcome to the 21st century. We have cell phones. Text your roommate, call them, etc. That was just a super basic ground rule that worked really well for my roommate and me and saved us from getting into petty arguments.

Secondly, COMMUNICATION IS KEY. We've learned this concept since we were in kindergarten. If you are having a problem with something your roommate is doing, let them know! Chances are they do not know that they are doing anything wrong, so nothing can be changed if they do not know something needs to be changed. Make sure you are rational and level-headed so not to come off sounding rude. In most cases, if you talk to your roommate about how you're feeling, she will understand and try to fix the problem. If nothing is fixed after several attempts at talking to your roommate, that's when it's time to take the situation to a Residential Assistant. But like I said, if you just communicate with your roommate about the situation, 9 out of 10 times it can be resolved.

Another thing that you really should do as a roommate is watch out for each other. I know you may think you're being annoying and don't want to act like you roommate's mom by bombarding her with texts, but honestly checking in with your roommate every once in a while is really a good idea, and can prevent dangerous situations. Even if you know you are going to go out and not be back till morning, let your roommate know so she doesn't worry that you're in trouble. If your roommate is gone for more than 24 hours, definitely text or call her to make sure everything is okay. On such a huge campus, she could be anywhere, safe or unsafe, so checking in every once in a while is really essential.

My freshman year, my mom bought me a novel called "The Naked Roommate," written by Harlan Cohen, and I was hesitant to read it because, honestly, the name just sounded weird... but one day when I was bored and nervous about going away to school, I decided to open it up and WOAH was it a good book. It is absolutely loaded with tips on how to live with a roommate and stories about crazy situations that might come up, and plus, it was really funny. I would definitely recommend checking it out if you want some advice from a professional!

Anyways, like always, please e-mail me if you need any advice or have any comments about anything I've mentioned, at BrandNewatIU@gmail.com.

Until next time!

xx, Maddy