I decided to get a new roommate next semester because of the following issues I had with my former one:
- Light Slob: Whenever he ate crunchy stuff like popcorn on a daily basis, some of it fell onto the floor. He never bothered to vacuum because was lazy. I didn't mind vacuuming for him because I liked to keep the carpet clean. This wouldn't be a problem if he did his share of cleaning, but he would never clean his room unless his parents came to visit.
- Courtesy Issues: Whenever I watched Youtube videos without any earbuds/headphones, he never wore his earbuds. Sometimes, both of our sounds mixed together, making it unenjoyable for me and probably him as well. You can only listen with earbuds for so long until you need to take a break from them. His earbuds still worked, but he never used them as often as I did. I tried to explain my concern, but his parents just told me to deal with it. But, I always had the option to leave the room, so I did. This leads me into my 3rd issue:
- Alone Time: When I told his parents about this concern, they still told me to deal with it. It's not that hard to move to a study lounge or a small study room that's in our dorm building. I always had to make the move. I also found this quite unfair because how would you feel if you were this situation?: Your roommate never leaves the room and you just want to have some time to yourself "In Your Own Room" without moving anywhere else.
- Inappropriate Behavior: He has done something around me that would not fly with other roommates very well. He watched some "adult content" while I was in the room. I was just on my bed playing some Xbox and then I looked over and saw what he was watching. To make things worse, he was doing "something else" while watching it, if you know what I mean. I took matters in my own hands and told my parents about it. Since my parents are friends with his parents, we both solved this issue without any problems between the two of us. I didn't freak out over this too much because I knew that he had some privacy issues when I became friends with him before he started college.
Now, sleep was also an issue because I had an 8 am class every Tues. and Thrus. and on some of those days, he would keep me up until he went to bed. We eventually got that all figured out, but it caused me to miss a few of my 8 am classes. I could’ve told the RA all of my concerns, but then he would’ve went back to his old ways.
Sorry for the long rant, but I made a promise to him and his family that I would room with him for an entire year, but then I changed my mind after realizing that this would affect my grades and overall life at college. I talked to my parents, friends, and 2 residential advisors and they all agreed that it would be easier for me to live next semester if I switched roommates.
Overall, it’s not easy living with someone who isn’t willing to change to make us live more comfortably together as roommates.