Treat others as you want to be treated. We’ve all had this idea shoved down our throats since the first day of preschool. Respect yourself, respect others, respect your superiors, respect your parents, respect your neighbors, and while you’re at it, respect your neighbor’s dog. Basically, even if Johnny was really, really mean to you and stole your cookie, you shouldn’t hit him, because you wouldn’t want him to slap you. Even if the neighbor’s dog keeps leaving “presents” on your lawn, you shouldn’t chase him with a fire hose, because you wouldn’t be too happy if somebody chased you with high-pressured water. But what really is respect? I don’t even mean that as a rhetorical question. I’m seriously intrigued, because somehow, it seems that very few people know the real answer.
Now, if there’s anybody who’s good side you want to be on, it’s your roommate’s. You are inevitably going to be living with this person for the rest of the year. If you’re a freshman, this person is most likely a complete and utter stranger, and there’s no telling if you’re going to become best friends, casual acquaintances, or sworn enemies. Regardless, if you don’t want to end up “accidentally” locked out of your room in a towel at 9:00 am every morning, you should probably try your best not to make him or her mad. In order to try and avoid that “sworn enemy” roommate category, here’s one particular crime it’d be in your best interest to avoid committing.
Whatever you do, do NOT, under any circumstances, let your visitors sit on your roommate’s bed. Unless your roomie explicitly gave you permission to use his or her bed as a sofa, I wouldn’t risk it. Your visitors may be your friends, but that doesn’t mean they’re your roommate’s buddies too. To your co-habitant, they’re just a bunch of strangers, and people don’t generally like strangers touching their stuff. I doubt you’d enjoy it if I found some random person on the street, asked him to come over, and offered him a seat in the same place you lay your head at night. So, going back to the beginning, treat others as you want to be treated and respect your roommate’s belongings. If you don’t let people sit on my mattress, I won’t invite random homeless men to rest on yours. That way, we’ll be able to live a wonderfully pleasant and peaceful co-existence. That’s all for now!
*Disclaimer: I’m lucky enough to have a really awesome roommate, so I’ve never had to deal with the particular issue I described. However, I’ve had people complain about their roommates doing it to them, so I thought it’d be a worthwhile topic to discuss.
Pingback: By The Numbers V1.0 - Kisses & Chaos
Wow, this post makes me very thankful that I am on really great terms with my roommate who also happens to be me. Yes, I am fortunate enough to have been given a single room (Thank you peanut allergy). While there are cases where roommates become best friends, your post demonstrates in a humorous manner some of negatives of being forced to live with someone. While this post wasn’t relevant to me in particular, I can appreciate it as I have already been hearing stories from friends who are clashing with their roommate.
Gabrielle, I completely agree that there should be rules. If you don’t set up rules at the start, you risk falling into disagreements with your roommate later. I know one time I asked my roommate if I could have a friend spend the night, and she said she wasn’t completely comfortable with it. As a result, I had my friends stay somewhere else. Since I asked and we had a discussion about it, we avoided an argument and kept things civil.
Megan, I cannot imagine having somebody actually sleep in my bed! That would have really gotten on my nerves. I’m shocked that he woke up and still didn’t move. I think personal space is vital to keeping one’s sanity. I just wish other people would respect it as well.
This is so funny, but also very true. I’m very fortunate to have a great roommate as well but I know I still struggle with getting used to sharing a room and space with someone. These are some great suggestions, I’ll try to keep them in mind this year.
This is such a great post/blog idea! I love the humor you put into every entry. But yea, I totally agree with the point you’re making here. It’s highly uncomfortable to walk in and have random strangers sitting on your bed.
I wish that I could show this article to my roommate. When you mentioned someone sitting on your bed, I immediately thought of a time my roommate let her friend SLEEP in mine (lucky me he still woke up, greeted me, then proceeded to nap. Such a kind guy.) Thanks for writing a relevant post that people quite possibly could tack onto their roommates corkboard (*cough, cough* me.)
You honestly can be a comedian, I had a huge smile on my face while I was reading this blog because everything you had to say was the obvious truth. I am definitely looking forward to reading your blog every week and getting tips from you. I definitely would hate for a complete stranger to even touch my bed. Thanks for sharing this with us, cant wait to read more of your blogs.
I find this blog post very relevant to my life right now. My roommate and I get along very well, and we now have several mutual friends. Unfortunately, after soccer practice during the week, I often find his friends sitting on my bed or in my chair when I arrive back at the dorm room. I honestly don’t mind that they’re touching my stuff, but it does annoy me when I specifically want to lay on my bed or sit in my chair after a very exhausting night when someone else is occupying it. Last night specifically, I can back to the dorm with a few of my clothes on my floor (which were hung over my desk chair), and my mouse pad for my laptop was in the trash can. I did not react or get mad on the outside because it was not worth my time, but I was fuming on the inside.
I love this topic! I hate when guests feel that they have complete authority over your room when they walk in. This small closet space where you are touching everything is where I LIVE! Respect is super important. My roommate and I have rules with each other that I think are really crucial to keeping an open friendship/cohabitation. I would definitely recommend telling a roomie when they overstepped their boundaries!
I think this is an excellent point on respect. As someone who is not exactly best friends with their roommate, we can have a lot of awkward scenarios and I can relate, as I’ve walked in when all 16 of his friends are piled on my bed and I have to squeeze through and grab my laptop. You do a good job of teaching a lesson while incorporating humor into it.
I love this blog idea! I am lucky enough to also have an awesome roommate for this year, but I have had a bad experience in the past (and the situation above came up plenty of times). I think this is very relatable and well written.