Roommates

     Your roommate is arguably the most important person you will meet when beginning college. If you do a random pick you will be living with an almost complete stranger so there are a few pieces of advice I would like to give based on my experience and the experiences of my friends so far at Rockhurst.

A note from Mary when she hung wet clothes around our room.

       1. Be completely honest with your roommate about what you need in the beginning.
            It is easier to tell a complete stranger that you need a clean room because at that point it is not personal. Then, they also have a chance to try and work with you. If you wait until their side of the room looks like a bomb just got dropped, it becomes personal and feelings can get hurt making the rest of the year can be awkward and painful.
       2. Be kind and understanding towards your roommate. 
            What is important to them in a living space may be very different than what is important to you. If you try to see things from their point of view they will appreciate it and the whole atmosphere will be a lot better for both of you. Plus, you may gain a new, refreshing perspective on life.

Mary and me [:

       3. Do not touch their things.
             You may think you are being nice by making your roommate's bed or washing their laundry but that may not be the way they see it. To them it may come across as rude and as if you have a problem with the way they do things.
       4. Talk Talk Talk.
             This one is pretty self-explanatory and it may seem like the most obvious thing in the world but you would be surprised. If you do find something to be a problem or you are thinking about changing something, just talk to your roommate about it. If you are sensitive in the way you phrase things, chances are they may be perfectly fine with what you would like to do. For example, I decided about 2 weeks into school that I did not like the way my roommate and I had our room set up. I talked to her about it and we ended up rearranging the room together. It was a ton of fun and we got to know each other a little better.
     If you are still unsure about the whole roommate thing, don’t sweat it. If you end up being with someone you really don’t mesh with there is always the chance to swap about a month into school; however, that shouldn’t be a problem. Roommates are fun and can end up being one of your best friends.