Living with roommates can be fun and exciting. At the same time, it can be a real challenge. Conflict is inevitable when you throw different personalities in a room and say, “You’re stuck with these people until your lease expires. Have fun!” Here are ten things that happen when you live with roommates.
1. Acting normal when you first meet
You’re nice and polite to each other. Perfectly pleasant human beings. There are the usual questions: “What’s your name?” “What are you studying?” “What year are you in?” You smile and act natural, but they’ll figure out how weird you are soon enough.
2. Running out of toilet paper with no extra roll in sight
You do your business before realizing the predicament you’re in. Maybe your roomie didn’t replace it because they got tired of being the only one buying toilet paper. Maybe they simply forgot. You can either suffer in silence or yell for them to get you a roll from the next room.
3. Dealing with different noise preferences
Some stay quiet in their room while others invite friends over and play music at midnight. These opposites can absolutely coexist. As with all problems that arise, communication is key.
4. Finding out you watch the same TV shows
You walk in on them watching your favourite TV show. You look at them, then the screen, then back at them, and you know the two of you were meant to be. No one can deny the indestructible bond formed by a shared love for a fictional storyline.
5. Accepting food when they offer it to you
You’ve had a long day at school, and you come home to the smell of freshly baked brownies. Your roomie offers you a slice. The answer is yes. The answer is always yes.
6. Finding that your food is going missing
Conversely, you could find yourself missing an egg, then an apple, then a pack of cold cuts. Next thing you know, you’ll be searching for your Tupperware filled with homemade food that your mom brought the last time she visited.
7. Singing loudly, then realizing you’re not alone
You thought you’d checked all the rooms. You thought you were in the clear. Then, you heard a flush.
8. Writing/reading passive aggressive sticky notes around the place
You try to craft the perfect way to tell your roomie to leave the fan on a few minutes after doing number two without saying it to their face. Speaking to them in person is much more effective.
9. Learning their strange quirks/habits
You find out that you’ve been living with someone who sets an alarm for 3am to take a pee break mid-sleep. You’re happy about this because they can’t judge you for all the weird stuff you do.
10. Meeting cool people who accept you, or at the very least, tolerate you
You may not become best friends, but you meet individuals from completely different walks of life who you get along with for about eight months. Whether you treat each other like family or with simple civility, you learn a little more about the types of people in this world, and the type of person you are.