Living in
halls is an important and exciting part of college life. Whether you know your roommate or are meeting for first time, living with another person is difficult at times. Open, honest and constant communication is key to successful roommate relationships. Often it is difficult to talk about differences when you and your roommate are first trying to get to know each other. If you intend to live together happily, you need to realize and resolve your personal difference early in fall semester. The first step is to begin talking about things you value and about your lifestyles, so that you can find out where differences exist.After sharing some background information, you and your roommate should begin to get to know each other and feel more comfortable about discussing more sensitive subjects. Take some time to talk about things you like and dislike, and those things about you that he or she needs to know. Be sure to listen to you roommate carefully.
The way I feel about dating is…
When it comes to smoking, I’d rather…
The kinds of grades I would like to get this semester are…
The amount of sleep I like to get each night is…
The types of foods I like to eat are…
The things I do for fun are…
Can I sleep with lights on or do I need total darkness?…
Do I study with music playing in background or do I need complete silence?…
What I like to do when I need some exercise is…
The things I like to do in my spare time are…
The way I feel about religion is…
The way I feel about loaning things is…
The way I would like to decorate our room is…
An important part of understanding your roommate is learning how he or she feels in certain situations. Roommates who enjoy living with each other typically "read" each other’s feeling fairly accurately, and are able to respond to one another accordingly. If you can share your feelings and reactions in some of following situations, you will be ahead of game in understanding and empathizing with your roommate during ups and downs of college life.
The way I react when I’m happy is…
