Your time living in the dorms or an apartment can be one of the most memorable times of your life — for either the right reasons or the wrong reasons. Roommates 
can either help you relax after a long day at school or they can make you wish you could sneak back into that Econ 101 class you loath.
Learning to get along with your roommates will help you to enjoy your college experience more. Here are five ideas for getting along with your roommates:
- Be willing to make it work — Developing a good relationship with your roommates begins with determination. It helps if all of you are committed to making it work but sometimes that just doesn’t happen for one reason or another. Nevertheless, having a positive attitude can go a long way toward helping you get along with your roommates.
- Get to know each other — Everybody has their quirks. Make it a personal challenge to find out about your roommate and learn how to get along with each other. A couple years ago I had a roommate from Guatemala. Although we had similar beliefs, political philosophies, etc., we were quite different. He was athletic; I am . . . not. He changed emotions quickly; I am usually pretty passive and sometimes hard to read. For the first two months that we roomed together, it was painfully obvious how much we disliked each other . . . until I made a discovery. One night I got frustrated and yelled back at him. To my surprise, I could see he liked that. Usually I’m pretty passive but I learned that if I wanted to get along with this guy, I’d have to contend a little more and fight to let my opinion be heard. After I started doing that, our problems diminished and we parted ways as good friends.
- Look at the positive — I’ll bet that I could take your favorite food and name several negative qualities it has. Take, for instance, ice cream (my favorite dessert). Ice cream is so cold that it can give you a headache if you eat it too fast. Although it comes out solid, if you let it sit too long in any temperature greater than 32 degrees, it will melt and become a stain hazard. Try googling “health risks of ice cream” and you will come up with more than 614,000 results! Now, if you went around thinking about ice cream that way all day, you would likely begin to hate it pretty quickly as you start to notice more and more negative things about it (I probably could have gotten my creative juices flowing and come up with more, but I want my love of ice cream to stay safely intact!). You can do the same thing to your roommates. If you can only focus on the fact that she smells worse than the quarterback’s socks after a game with the rivals, than you both are doomed to a long semester. Instead, try to focus on the positive. Easier said than done, I know, but it can take you a long way toward forging a better relationship with your roomies.
- Find ways to serve — Don’t be afraid of rolling up your sleeves once in a while to do a few dishes or scrub the toilet. While you might not be able to buy a relationship with others with a $5 pizza, it sure doesn’t hurt when you want to get a conversation started.
- Communicate — If there’s a problem, don’t let it fester, infect, and grow mold. Talk to your roommates and figure out a solution. You don’t have to be rude or unreasonable. Be willing to negotiate and sacrifice. Chances are, you have a few bad habits as well. Use “I” language instead of “you” language. Also, try not to sweat the small things. A sock on the floor will not mortally wound you.
This list is just a starting point. I actually had a few more ideas but I cut it down for length purposes. Roommates can turn into lifelong friendships. It’s important to note that even if you try your best to get along with each other, sometimes it just doesn’t work out. In that case, just try to make the best of the situation and consider rooming with someone different next time.
About the Author
Derek Gurr is a writer for MyCollegesandCareers.com. My Colleges and Careers helps people determine if an online education is right for them and helps them understand which online courses and online schools they can choose from to reach their goals.