Q: I don't like my roommate. What should I do?
A: Well let’s start by clearing the air — there's a good chance that the two girls down the hall who are besties (!!!) right now will be at each other’s throats by midterms. It’s a devolution that’s both disturbing and wildly entertaining to witness, so there’s one thing to look forward to.
First piece of advice — keep your problems to yourself. While it may help to confide (re: bitch to) one close friend during this time of uncleanliness and/or frequent sexile, spreading the news of your hatred throughout your hall is a bad, bad plan. You don’t want to make an enemy of your roomie before classes even start, and you also definitely do not want to be that one jerk on the hall who’s always complaining. Remember, it’s still NSO. Everyone’s judging you.
Your best bet is to begin by actually communicating with your roommate. Tell him/her what’s bothering you in a constructive manner, with the intention of making things better for both of you. While it might feel great to rip into them, try to just swallow your emotions for the moment. You can always cry in the shower later.
If that fails, knock on your RA or GA’s door, and tell them what’s up. As it turns out, they’re probably not as old, socially awkward, or NARC–y as you think. If you can’t come to a resolution that way, there’s always the fall room change period starting Monday, Oct. 1, during which you can submit an application for housing reassignment. There are a lot of options here, including swapping with someone, moving in with a friend if they’ve got space, or just completely starting fresh.
Or you could always start a passive aggressive war over the air conditioner and escalate things until only one of you lives. After stilettos and body glitter, a rap sheet’s like the best accessory to take fratting.
See our answers to more of your questions here.
