Third Time Around

Lots of people at university have trouble with their roommate. I can beat most; I had trouble with two of mine.

When I first arrived, I had all these grandiose ideas of how much I was going to learn, how much freedom I had now, and all the new friends I was going to make. But once I had moved in, I somehow omitted doing some of these things.

Moving in, I was first paired to live with another random freshman. We never really got to know each other or the rest of the people on our floor. I clung to friends at home via computer and phone for my first semester and kept to myself for the most part because of how different everyone seemed to be. He did the same.

Later on that year, he moved to another dorm and another random person moved in. I had high hopes this time. But they were dashed because as well as being grungy and smelly, my new roommate was an annoying hermit. He never really left our room and always preferred two TVs on at a time. One was for the same reruns we had watched hundreds of times, and the other for his video games. I never got along with him. And again I kept to myself and clung to the idea that I wouldn't meet a group of friends like I had at home, so why bother trying to make new ones?

Since I did not enjoy living with the hygienically challenged hermit, once I was presented with the opportunity to move in with another random person, I took it. This time, I got lucky -- well, not in the way you might be thinking. My new roommate Kevin was outgoing and already knew everyone else on my floor. We had the same interests, the same tastes in music, and neither of us minded making a fool out of ourselves for a laugh. Eventually, I felt comfortable enough where I lived to really get to know my neighbors. Today, that group of people on the dorm bottom floor are some of my best friends. Even though I got lucky third time around, I wish I would have tried harder to make some of these changes before.

I had only ever felt comfortable living back home; now I felt like I had a second home here. I learned two valuable lessons by going through all three roommates. One, get to know the people that live around you. It makes all the difference. Two, don't compromise with your living situation. If you are uncomfortable it will impact your entire college experience. You have to feel at home, so once you're reasonably sure the existing situation isn't going to work out, don't delay. Find out how to make the necessary changes, and get them made.

(Come to think of it, that could be a rather good rule for the rest of your life as well.)

I've stuck to those two rules since, and have enjoyed every moment of being here. These rules aren't specific to me; I know plenty of people here and on other campuses who have had the same problems adjusting to their new living situations. The ones who are outgoing and give a sincere effort to meet new people are the ones who stayed at the schools and love every waking moment.