Once upon a time, two soon-to-be college students eager to attend Cabrini University find one another via social media and decide to pair up as roommates. They spend the summer texting about door room decor and all things college. They can't wait to begin their college experience and live together. Ambitious, excited, motivated, and hopeful, the roommates move into their new space and are ready for the next chapter of their lives.
A few weeks into the semester, a problem occurred. The roommates realize their sleeping schedules are very opposite.
One roommate is a night person, and the other is a morning person. The early bird loves to wake up bright and early and start their day by opening up their blinds and making their morning coffee. The night owl is not a fan of the noise that is being created every day at 8am sharp. At night, the early bird friend cannot seem to fall asleep every night due to the hardworking, energetic night owl.
Now what? What should the roommates do?
This situation could happen to you and a future roommate. No fear; I will help guide you through what to do!
Step 1: Try speaking about the issue. Try bringing up the situation when you and your roommate are alone in your dorm. “Do you have a few minutes to talk?” There are two ways this could go. Route A is that your roommate is very understanding, and you agree that you're both ready to work together to find solutions and compromises. Or route B, your roommate completely disagrees with you and gets upset. If this happens, don’t panic! This isn’t the end of eternity. There are still plenty of options! Walk to your RA’s room and let them know what's happening. Your RA will set up a meeting time for the three of you to help resolve this issue. Having the RA involved can help a lot. If the meeting does not go as planned, you and your RA can discuss further options, including potentially separating you and your roommate.
I hope this helps you out with any roommate issues!
P.S. If you plan to find a roommate on social media, it is important to take time to ask difficult questions before committing to living together. Some things to consider include the following: Do your sleep schedules align? How organized do you prefer your room to be? How often do you clean? What is your stance on having friends over in the room during the school week? What are you open to sharing? What are you not willing to share? How often do you plan to go home on weekends? Do you leave the TV on at night?
Knowing about these things in advance can help alleviate potential problems.
At Cabrini, if you don't want to find a roommate on social media, that is more than OK! Students planning to live on campus that don't have a roommate lined up will take an online quiz that asks questions like those above and will match them with someone who shares similar living habits and interests.
Take a deep breath! Everything will be okay.