WOULD YOU MAKE A GOOD ROOMMATE?

Written by dan the roommate man


If you have decided to live with someone else,repparttar most important thing to do is to take a good look at yourself as a potential roommate. Set aside at least an hour of your time to sit down with a piece of paper and a pencil and do some serious introspection. Don't skip this part, it's really valuable.

List Your Assets.

Start withrepparttar 110546 good stuff and give yourself a pat onrepparttar 110547 back. Make a list of all ofrepparttar 110548 "pluses" you will bring to a roommate relationship. Here are a few examples, but take time to think up your own. Make sure you cover all three categories:

Personal: Sense of humor, ability to listen, non-smoker, morning person, etc.

Technical: Knowledge of plumbing, phenomenal cook, etc.

Material: Stereo, car, living room furniture, etc.

List Your Faults.

Now that you know you're not such a bad person, consider what "minuses" you will bring to a relationship. Be as honest as you would want your roommate to be with you. (If you can't seem to think of anything, you are kidding yourself). Again, here are a few examples to start you thinking:

Personal: Moodiness, sloppiness, you think all Beethoven music is just random noise, etc.

DORMMATES- LVING WITH OTHERS CAN BE TOUGH

Written by dan the roommate man


Living on campus is very different from living with your immediate family. You may not know your roommates very well. You may come from different parts ofrepparttar country, or different parts ofrepparttar 110545 world. Your roommates may have different cultures, different religions, different habits, different lifestyles, and different customs. While these new experiences may initially seem a little strange or intimidating to you, they may also offer unique opportunities for greater understanding of others, more effective ways of communicating, and new avenues for personal growth.

On Campus Living: A Different Dynamic

Growing up, most of us lived with people very much like us: our families. After many years of living together, we adapted to habits of our family members, even if they were different than our own habits. After all, these people were our families. We had to get along with each other.

Living on campus offers a different social dynamic. The people you live with now are, most likely, notrepparttar 110546 people you will be living with forrepparttar 110547 rest of your life. While some students do develop lifelong relationships with their college roommates, others live

Although college living experiences are temporary, they offer students many different avenues for personal growth and understanding, and for building interpersonal skills which will help them build relationships after their college years have passed.

Understanding Differences

Living with persons who have different habits and customs can be an educational experience. Sharing differences with one another can layrepparttar 110548 foundation for greater understanding of different religions, cultures, lifestyles, customs and traditions. The workforce ofrepparttar 110549 new millennium will demand a greater understanding ofrepparttar 110550 diversity of lifestyles, customs and ways of communicating, because technology has made it easier to link persons and companies acrossrepparttar 110551 world, with nothing more than a personal computer. Seen in this context, living with persons who have different customs and lifestyles can offer students practical preparation forrepparttar 110552 workforce of tomorrow.

Not Getting Along With Your Roommates?

Here are some things you might try.

Talk To Them Yourself.

This answer may seem a bit too easy, but surprisingly, it is often an option that people avoid. It is easy to let problems go, until they seem so large that talking about them is intimidating. While it may be hard to approach your roommate if he/she is doing something which bother you, it will usually help moverepparttar 110553 problem toward resolution. Onrepparttar 110554 other hand, if you don’t tell your roommate that something is bothering you, he or she may not know that you are bothered, and might continue to dorepparttar 110555 thing which bothers you. Even worse, if you seem annoyed atrepparttar 110556 behavior, he or she may misread this annoyance as animosity toward him/her. When this happens, it becomes very difficult to re-openrepparttar 110557 lines of communication.

Mediation

Mediation services are usually offered through your school's Residence Life staff. Mediation is a process where all parties involved in a dispute agree to meet with a third party, who listens to all sides ofrepparttar 110558 dispute, and attempts to helprepparttar 110559 parties reach an agreement among themselves. To arrange a mediation, see your Resident Assistant or Community Assistant, or callrepparttar 110560 Office of Residence Life for your campus housing area.

Ground rules forrepparttar 110561 discussion are agreed upon atrepparttar 110562 beginning ofrepparttar 110563 mediation, and each party is allowed to state his/her side ofrepparttar 110564 dispute, without being interrupted. Thenrepparttar 110565 parties suggest possible solutions torepparttar 110566 dispute. The mediator may ask questions ofrepparttar 110567 parties duringrepparttar 110568 mediation, to help them suggest alternatives. Mediation is typically a give-and-take type of situation. Each party usually must make some type of concession to another party, in order for a solution to be achieved. The process does not always give each party a perfect solution. The emphasis is on peaceful compromise. If an agreement is made, it is usually put in writing, and signed byrepparttar 110569 parties involved, andrepparttar 110570 mediator signs as a witness. The original copy ofrepparttar 110571 agreement is generally kept on file withrepparttar 110572 mediator forrepparttar 110573 termrepparttar 110574 disputing parties live together. The agreement is binding amongrepparttar 110575 parties, andrepparttar 110576 terms must be followed by allrepparttar 110577 parties. Should a party violaterepparttar 110578 agreement, he or she would be asked to meet withrepparttar 110579 Resident Director, Area Coordinator, or another appropriate member ofrepparttar 110580 Residence Life staff. Ifrepparttar 110581 other parties wish, another mediation can be held. The staff member would also discuss room change options withrepparttar 110582 person, ifrepparttar 110583 problem could not be resolved.

The Mediation Process:

The mediator will:

1. Helprepparttar 110584 parties set ground rules forrepparttar 110585 discussion. Some typical examples:

a.) Each party will listen without interruptingrepparttar 110586 other person.

b.) No name calling.

c.) Each person will "own" his or her own statements and feelings.

d.) Time limits on each person's "turn."

The mediator should also ask each party if he/she has other possible ground rules or conditions for discussingrepparttar 110587 situation.

2. Allow each party uninterrupted time to state what he/she sees asrepparttar 110588 main problems or issues to be worked out.

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