It may only be January, but it is never too early to begin thinking about your housing situation for next year. The selection period is coming up in May, and there are many factors to consider before making a decision.
I would advise making a simple checklist of your individual requirements and absolute objections as a prudent way of avoiding disaster and ensuring happiness for next year.
Here are some helpful hints to aid you in your decisions: Examine yourself. Are you the type of person that can’t stand a messy room? Then be sure to find someone who makes cleanliness a priority, unless you enjoy living in filth. In that case, I hope you find your unkempt and disheveled roommate, and you two can live dirtily ever after.
Are you a partier, or do you like your peace and quiet? This could be the difference between sleep and no sleep, passing and failing, sanity and insanity, life and death. Okay, maybe not life and death, but you get the idea.
Are you a morning person or a night owl? Let’s face it, if you’re not a morning person, there’s nothing more annoying than a blindingly bright “Good morning!” from your bowl-of-sunshine roommate at 7 a.m.
Maybe you absolutely hate loud sneezers, and don’t enjoy the mini-heart attack you experience every time that individual violently and involuntarily expels air from their mouth and nose. That’s just one possible scenario.
The point is it’s important to know yourself and what you can and cannot tolerate when living with someone. Now that I’ll be a sophomore, I will not have to sweat over the freshman roommate selection, which is, for all intents and purposes, a terrifying lottery.
Although the concept of being assigned a complete stranger to live with for a year may seem like a nightmarish situation, it certainly teaches you about yourself.
You learn about your limits, your pet peeves, your likes and your dislikes. It is a period of growth regardless of who you end up with, and it is beneficial when it comes time to choose your next rooming arrangement.
Even though it is a good idea to create a check list for your decision, you must remember that it is unlikely that anyone will be able to meet all of your expectations. This is where your respect, tolerance and patience must be exercised. These three qualities are crucial for the success of the relationship between you and your potential roommate.
When adverse situations arise within the dorm, I encourage you to maintain rationality. Respect your roommates’ requests, and you will receive respect in return.
Be tolerant of their idiosyncrasies, because we all have our own peculiarities, even though we might not be aware of them. Irritability is inevitable; practice patience when it occurs.
All of these recommendations will help you to have an all-around cheerful and successful rooming situation for next year. Read it, learn it, live it.