Roommate 101

Hello LTP community! I know it has been a while, but the quarter system is killing me. I have had a midterm every week for three weeks now. However, I think I'm done with testing until finals woo! Anyways, college has been SO MUCH FUN! San Luis Obispo is absolutely incredible, and my new friends are so fun and supportive. As you all know, I have two roommates, and the three of us all get along wonderfully. In honor of our success so far, this post will be all about how to create a good relationship with your roommate(s)!

1.  Communication: This is definitely the most important part about living with other people, and can make or break your first year in the dorms. Besides group texts and calling each other, my roommates and I have a couple ways of communication that have been super helpful so far. 

           This is a combined schedule with all three of our current classes, and one of the most useful things we have created. After the first week of school, we made this because we were always wondering when each of us had class. Even after 8 weeks of school, I still look at it every day. Each of us has a color (I am blue, Liz is pink and Cody is green) and we divided it up into hour increments. Yes, Liz and I have a class from 8-10pm. No, we did not choose to have one at that time. :(

Sticky notes are also one of our favorite ways to communicate! We use them to let each other know where we are when we aren't in class, wish each other good luck on tests, and even make random comments to each other (like Liz's comment about the lettuce in her veggie science lab lol). These are super easy to put up, and extremely useful when one of us leaves before the others wake up.

2.  Respect: This is crucial, especially when it comes your roommate's personal space. You are going to be living with these people for an entire year (if not more), so you want to make sure that you are all on good terms. This is also important when it comes to each other's food! Don't take anything unless you ask first, or unless they offer some to you (seriously don't get in between college kids and their food...).

3.  Support: With college comes a wave of new challenges. Some will be harder then others, and everyone deals with stress in their own ways. Even if it appears that your roommate is doing ok, make sure they know that you are there for them. Sometimes you just need someone to vent to or even another person to review an essay you are working on. Also, we have found that a roomie cuddle sesh will fix almost anything. (even our guy friends have cuddle sessions with each other...don't believe me? See the second picture below)

 4.  Set Rules: Do this in the very beginning! If your roommate is doing something that bugs you, confront them about it right away. Chances are they don't know it is bothering you. This will also help avoid arguments later on. At the beginning of the year, our RA passed out roommate agreements that we all created and signed to lay out all the rules. This included quiet hours, hygiene, guests, and personal space. For example, Liz didn't want anyone on her bed, so instead of finding out the hard way, we all agreed we wouldn't go up there when writing our contract.

5.  BE YOURSELF: Don't conform to be like everyone else. Even though you will probably be spending a lot of time with your roommates, this doesn't mean you have to all be carbon copies of each other in order to get along. In fact, each of us have little quirks that make living with each other more interesting. Like how Cody goes to sleep on top of her comforter every night, or how Liz randomly takes showers at 4am.

Me and Cody during rush

The 3 of us training to become ping pong pros

Me and Liz on Halloween

How do you guys maintain good relationships with your roommates?

Bisous!

Lauren