Roommate relationships and shared living arrangements

Roommate

Since moving to a new college, new area, meeting new people, adapting to a new lifestyle are stressful enough, the last thing you need then is to find yourself with a roommate from hell. Roommates should be understanding and cooperative who respect your privacy and allow you enough space. I would like to become the kind of roommate I expect to meet myself at Stanford. For one, it must be clearly borne in mind that just because a person happens to be your roommate doesn't automatically mean he/she is also your friend. He is as much a new person as any other you are likely to run into on and around the campus. Therefore don't try to be over friendly. Give him/her time and space to understand who you are and where you are coming from. In the end, he will respect you more for that. Secondly if he chooses not to be friends with you, respect that as well. But make sure you and your roommate agree on some important rules that should cover everything from as minor as the time when lights are turned off to whether either of you can invite your friends/partners to the room occasionally. Once these rules are agreed on, it becomes easier to cooperate and not get on each other's nerves. Try your best not to argue. It only adds to stress. Therefore try to solve your problems by allowing each other few moments alone so you can figure out what happened and if you were being reasonable. Also make sure you know how to appreciate when your roommate is being helpful, cooperative or understanding. Though you may choose not to hang out with your roommate or be as friendly with them as you are with your other friends, still it always pays to be empathetic. Lend her/him an ear when he/she is going through a problem provided they really want to talk about it. In short while trying to become a good roommate, I would like to remember the following rules: