Adjusting to a New Roommate

Living with someone you don't know very well can be one of the first and most challenging obstacles as you begin college. Some good steps towards building a positive relationship with your new roommate include:

1. Don't be shy! This may seem obvious but sometimes you have to be the one to initiate conversation but it will pay off as you will end up spending lots of time with this person.

2. Lay down ground rules. This is very important because living with someone you don't know, you are bound to argue if you don't establish what is important and sensitive to one another.

3. Make sure you always have a way to contact this person (phone, facebook, twitter). There will be plenty of situations throughout the year where you'll need assistance from your roommate. Imagine being locked out of your apartment, do you pay $25+ to have your office let you in or do you make a simple call to your roommate? You be the judge.

4. Be yourself, but be respectful. You have to be yourself, but if you know there are things that you do that may be unappreciated by your roommate tone it down. You will spend lots of time with this person so make sure you are respectful at all times. What goes around comes around so your roommate will reciprocate and save you both a headache.

5. If you don't agree with something your roommate is doing, communicate with them! Let them know, don't let it boil inside of you until you explode.

Having a good relationship with your roommate can go a long way towards enjoying your year of school. It is worth putting forth an effort to develop a relationship or at least an understanding with the person you are going to be living with.