Benefits Of Roommates

Roommates. Maybe you had to share a room with your brother or sister growing up. Maybe you have moved into your very first dorm room and are realizing just how close you and this other person are going to get. Maybe you and some friends are new to an area and want to reduce the cost of living by moving in together. Regardless, sharing some form of living space with another person is a nearly inevitable, but eventful, venture that many of us will experience at one time or another. At first, having a roommate can seem like an amazing opportunity to make a few friend or groups of friends, and it is, but once the newness has worn off and you all are silently battling over whose turn it is to take the trash out, tensions can rise. There are many

Why must you wade through your roommates piles and piles of laundry in the middle of the floor just to get to your bed? Why does your room currently smell like sweat and chicken when you yourself are neither an athlete nor a carnivore? Clothing, pencils, papers, food wrappers, homework, books –– everywhere! However, none of it is yours. This roommate will forever proclaim their clean and spotless ways while stuffing more papers into their drawers and throwing (and missing, mind you) another empty soda bottle at the already full trashcan and then silently refuse to take it out. You make an effort to keep your side of the room clean, making a clear divide between the what is messy and what is dirty, but it is to no avail. This roommate needs a lesson in boundaries, organization, and needs to learn how to use a vacuum cleaner and scrub

The process of leaving the safety of your parers house can be stressful enough; and having to live with, what can often bee, a total stranger does not always ease the mind. Roommates come in as many different shapes, sizes, attitudes, music tastes, and odd quirks as there are people on earth. Some roommates will not match your level of cleanliness, causing a fed every time the sink is full of dishes or the trash needs to be taken out. Some, you will never see and some will never leave the dorm or apartment. Unbeknownst to you, some come as a package deal with another person, a best friend or significant other, and will expect you to be fine with it. Knowing what kind of roommate you need as well as what kind of roommate you are allows you to make the very best out of this new and unfamiliar