Getting Along With My Roommate: Part 2

As a third year student at Chico State, I have gone through many experiences that have helped me grow. One of the obstacles that I had my first year was getting along with my roommates. I had moved into University Village, an apartment style dorm, where I had my own room, but shared the kitchen and a bathroom. The bathroom was shared between two other girls and me and I shared the kitchen with five other girls. Going into living in an apartment was very exciting for me because I was going to be off on my own with other first year students. 

My roommates and I tried to get to know each other the first couple of weeks and they all seemed to be very outgoing and chill. As the time passed, I began to notice tendencies that they had like not cleaning and having a messy kitchen. Living there began to get harder because of differences in our lifestyles. Some people never had to clean at home so they hardly cleaned here. Some of us grew up washing our dishes and cleaning and the other roommates would take advantage of it.
I became really good friends with one of my suite mates and we began to talk about how dirty everything was and we needed to set ground rules. Since we are all adults, I thought we did not need to police each other’s tendencies. I felt even worse for my suite mate because she has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and had to see everything clean in the kitchen. Her roommate was one of the messiest girls I had ever met! The problems kept getting worse to the point where I would stay in my room and just use the kitchen to cook.

As a first year student, I suggest to keep constant communication with all the roommates. If there is a problem don’t ignore it, talk about it. If you feel uncomfortable, there are resources on campus that can help you such as your residential advisor or housing director. Take advantage of everything, after all you are paying for all of this! 

Getting Along With My Roommate - Part 1

When I first came to Chico from my hometown in Southern California I had no trace of friends.  Thankfully I lived in Whitney Hall for my first year of college.  The people here in Chico are also extremely friendly and open to meeting new people, which I love. Unfortunately you aren't always going to meet the right people, or you might get stuck with a roommate that does not necessarily fall under the “friend zone.” Alas, I was stuck with one of those roommates during my second year of college.  Once you are signed onto a lease with someone it is nearly impossible to get out of that situation.  Solution: make the best with what you have. Try your best to make plans with this person so you may find common interests and hobbies that can help relate you with one another.

One main aspect of college that is extremely important is being a good student but also having fun and exploring new destinations.  Juggling a full load of units and sometimes a job can be a little difficult and stressful to cope with.  The solution to this problem could be stress relief.  There are many ways of getting rid of stress that allow you to still have time for your academics and social life. A few ways that I rid of my stress is walking around campus and just think about absolutely nothing.  Chico State offers an amazing campus and we need to take advantage of it, it can be a very peaceful place.  A way of preventing stress is to manage your time equally; there is a time for work and a time for fun.  Time management is key to a successful semester.