Moving into a dorm with another person is kind of like getting a new puppy, except you’re the puppy. When you get a new puppy, it turns everything upside down for a while. You need to teach it what to play with, what to stay away from, when to be quiet, what to eat and on and on.
Unfortunately there aren’t roommate training classes like there are puppy training classes. However, some situations are intuitive. When you move in, you’ll put all your clothes in a dresser and your pillows on a bed. From then on that will be your space, and the other bed and the other dresser will be your roommate’s space.
Puppies tend to have an uncannily bad habit of putting anything in sight in their mouths. Try your best to avoid adopting this particular habit. “What’s yours is mine” is never the rule of thumb when it comes to roommates.
Establish boundaries in the beginning so you don’t end up having your Oreos eaten when you were saving them for after your test. If you and your roommate happen to love sharing food and decide it’s a free-for-all, just make sure that’s clear from the very beginning before you eat their slice of pizza from the fridge.
Just like a puppy learns to stay off the nice couch and understands whether they can sleep in the bed at night, you too must learn which spaces are off-limits.
Decisions about common spaces should be made collectively, like how often counters should be scrubbed or how many dishes are allowed to build up in the sink. Make all these decisions at the very beginning. If you feel your space isn’t being respected, communicate your feelings to your roommate.
Communicate how to respect each other’s space and emotions. Maybe you want words of comfort or maybe you need some time alone. It’s important to remember that your room is a home for both of you. You should both feel safe and comfortable.
Communicate how to respect each other’s space and emotions. Maybe you want words of comfort or maybe you need some time alone. It’s important to remember that your room is a home for both of you. You should both feel safe and comfortable.
