How to Cope with a Bad Roommate

922 Words4 Pages
College is a time full of learning and new experiences, and one experience that first-year college students encounter is managing living with a roommate. While you often hear of college roommates ending up becoming life long friends, some of us aren't so lucky. Sometimes you have to deal with a roommate that you just don't get along with. Having a bad roommate is just a fact of life for some college students, but usually if you know how you can make it work... usually. College life is an adjustment in itself. Cramped living space, lack of sleep, limited privacy, and the demand of school work can bring enough stress to a college student's life, now add the complications of having to live with a roommate that you cannot stand. Even with a horrible roommate, if you follow a few guidelines you can manage to survive through it. Communication! The worst thing you could possibly do is avoid addressing the issues you and your roommate have. You have to try and talk to your roommate and lay down the law from the beginning. This is something I in particular suck at. I hate confrontation and therefore avoid any kind of conversation with my roommate but you cannot assume that he or she knows that there even is a problem if you have not come out and said it straightforward. What may seem obvious to you may not be so to someone else. Many feuds start with just a misunderstanding, so talking things out can be a simple way to avoid a conflict to begin with. When you are constantly around someone that you can't stand you're often very edgy and on the verge of having a freak out at any minute, so it's good to have someone that you can vent to. Whether it's calling your mom, texting your best friend, talking to your therapist, or like me, venting to your academic coach, it's important to have someone to talk to. Talking to someone helps getting your frustration out and will help
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