Take care in choosing whom you live with

Roommates. A seemingly innocent word. Dictionary.com tells me that “roommates” means simply, “A person with whom one shares a room or rooms.”

I assure you, if it were that simple, I’d never be writing this article. It’s not.

No matter how well you got along with someone in high school, living together in a confined space for an entire year can be one of the worst social experiences of your life.

Inevitably, many of you freshmen are probably reading this and thinking, “What’s this guy talking about? Me and my roommate get along great!”

Well, the honeymoon is almost over, friends. Nobody hates their roommate in the first month. The first month is all about fun! Parties every weekend, staying up late watching television or playing video games — no sweat!

But now the real test is coming. The weeks approaching typically are when most professors assign that first big paper or that first exam takes place, and you think it might be good to catch up on some sleep.

But what if your roommate doesn’t want to turn the lights off by midnight? What if they want to watch “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” until 3 a.m.?

Hmmm … conflict?

My roommate freshman year was my best friend in high school, but we didn’t live together so well. He’s naturally nocturnal, whereas I need at least eight hours of sleep to function.

And he had the most annoying, unconscious habit: shuffling poker chips while surfing the Internet. It’s hard to sleep at night when it sounds like a casino.

Needless to say, there were plenty of times during the year I wasn’t sure if we were going to finish the year as friends, let alone as best friends.

So what’s the secret to having a successful year?

The most important thing you have to do is talk about the issues you have with each other. If something your roommate does bothers you, and you just try to ignore it, eventually everything will boil over and you’ll end up in an argument so long you’ll forget why it started.

The second most important thing you have to do is respect your roommate. It might be hard if you’ve known them your entire life, but you need to have a give-and-take agreement. Know what is important to your roommate and let them know what is important to you.

It’s too late to change roommates this year, but be wary of who you’re signing a lease with for a house or apartment next year.

Living off-campus allows for a lot more space and privacy, but there also are more issues you have to deal with regarding your roommate: cleaning, doing dishes, electricity and cable bills, rental payments, etc. And when money is involved, that takes your issues to a higher level.

One year, I had to scramble to find a roommate. I knew of a girl from my hometown — not a friend, but an acquaintance – who was looking for a place. Bingo.

I thought things would be great. She had a boyfriend, so there weren’t going to be any uncomfortable gender problems. Plus, being a girl, I figured she would keep me in check with the cleaning.

Biggest mistake of my life.

Before the first week was over, her boyfriend moved in. Of course, nobody ever asked me. And every night I would come home from work to find a pile of their dirty dishes in the sink and a stained, greasy stovetop for me to clean. This lasted the entire year.

She never really left the living room, so I’m assuming she didn’t go to class too often. And I know she spent a considerable amount of her time smoking weed in her bedroom or our bathroom, so those could be reasons why she doesn’t go to MSU anymore.

So, when you’re choosing a roommate this year, try to think ahead, but don’t just choose someone who seems a lot like yourself.

Because, well, I know I spent a lot of the column complaining, but if I had to live with me as my roommate, I would hate it. I leave my laundry all over the place and sometimes I leave my crusty, dirty dishes in random places of my apartment.

And honestly, who would want to live with a guy like that?

Published on Sunday, September 30, 2007