Whether here at college, away at camp, or on the road, we will all inevitably deal with bad roommates. It seems as though the worst stories come after the problems are ignored.
It takes two to fight, but in many cases, bickering is the least of the problems when living with bad roommates.
First-year City College student, Jessica Gordon said her roommate was a Chinese exchange student who spoke very little English and listened to American music loudly.
“[My] roommate would be up at god-awful hours doing homework,” Gordon said. “We talked about one time the whole year, I think. Her side of the room was scarce, neat and with no color. And you know how mine is, messy and colorful.”
This clashing of habits is what can make a good roommate into a bad one.
Nick Soriano, a second-year communications major dealt with worse.
“There was no balance between cleaning the house, buying the groceries, and taking out the trash,” said Nick Soriano. “I did all of that, on top of dealing with a bunch of slobs. I’ve been studying late at night, and these guys would come in with all of their friends. I could hear the door closing, then opening again, probably a 100 times in a day.”
Maybe a bad roommate is someone who lets shower drip down on the tiles as they let the water warm for fifteen minutes even though it would only need two. Maybe they even blow their noses so loud that the sound booms more bass than a band out on Del Playa. Or even they leave you little presents inside the toilet bowl.
Just remember that it’s not so bad. It’s just different from what you do. To cope with terrible roommates, remind yourself that your situation is never as bad as someone else’s. That is, if you don’t live with a loud pop-music blaster or a slob who never buys groceries, in which case you should move.
And if you can’t move on, try to realize that you’re stuck in a very bad situation, but at least you’ll have some great stories for the grandchildren to enjoy.