A Fresh Look

Rooms and Roommates

by Morgan | June 5, 2009

I had a future Lynn student ask me a few questions about roommates. She was worried that she wasn’t going to get along with her roommate. Here’s the email I sent her with some facts about Lynn’s housing system as well as how to think positive and work with your new roommate BEFORE even moving in together.

“Well, Lynn is going to throw you into the dark with a stranger and say have fun! That would be horrible. So you will get an email towards the end of summer with your roommates contact information. It will have your room assignment and your roommates Lynn email address. Email your new roommate right away. Tell them about yourself and your background. Ask them about where they grew up and find some common ground.  Maybe going into all of your habits right away might come off hard to admit all at once and a lot to take, so take it slow. Try and become friends first or at least on good terms before jumping into how you want to live in the room you will be sharing.

Do keep in mind, a person can come off one way online or over the phone but a totally different in person. My roommate my freshmen year sounded great over the phone but when we moved in together, she was very high maintance. In the end though, we got a long pretty well. We never really fought or anything, we just had different views for the room but some how made it work. Some roommates get along really well and have fun going to dinner together the first few weeks or join the same groups to have something to do together thats fun and out of the room, which is a great way to literally have a friendship outside of the room.

I’ll say the best advice is don’t go in with a negative attitude. If your roommate feels that you don’t like them and feel that you two are going to fight all the time, then of course there will be problems! Be positive, be open minded, and of course, compromise! If it is bad, after two weeks, you are allowed to find a  new roomate and move. Your RA is a great person to talk to about anything. I’ve had roommate fights and issues and RA’s are a safe person to go to about problems you are having adjusting to college to your roommate won’t turn the TV off. plus, RA’s are just cool people! A lot of my friends and sisters are RA’s and they are so helpful and really know their stuff.

Going to college and having a roommate you hardly knows does not equal a horrible year of fighting. Try planning the decore of the room before you even get there over the phone with your new roommate. It can help the two of you to get to know each other. Think about colors or themes. I’ve seen some really nice rooms where two female residents decorated their whole room with their fav colors, had simular things on their desk. Both sides of the room matched nicely which made it feel more at home and was more comforting to come home too as the end of a long day of classes.

A dorm room is a students home away from home. Why not make it feel that way. For a lot of students it is their first taste of freedom, their first space. I like to think of my room as the pre appartment stage in my life and try and make it feel like home for me with the little space that I do have. I’ve learned to work with what I’ve got and I have def worked on cutting down the clutter. Next year for my Junior year, I am living alone in a single and I am so excited. I have control over all of my space! Yes!

Please keep in mind, that Lynn has a two week trial period. If you and your new roommate really are not getting along and really don’t think you can possibly live together for 8 months, then you are allowed to find a new roommate that you would like to live with. It may take some interviews to find the perfect roommate for you. If at any point, you feel that your life is at risk, tell your RA! I had a friend who had to pretty much secretly move out of their room while the roommate was out and into an emergancy room for a few weeks. Finally they found a great room with great roommates. If you really don’t trust your roommate and are having serious problems, campus security has their number posted on all the mirrors in the rooms as well as some other important phone numbers. There is always some form of support at Lynn, from RA’s to the Tutoring Center.

But to end on a positive note, my best advice is to go in open minded. I think that was the problem with my Sophomore year, it was all about what could go wrong and not about the great times we could have and that just led to a ton of fighting about what we didn’t want all the time. Be positive, be open minded, and compromise!