Okay, so this is my second blog post. I have been hearing some good things about my blog thanks for all the feedback and those who read it and liked it. I wasn’t very confident about my blog posts, I am not the best of writers (at least that’s what I think). Last post was about moving away to go to college and a few tips about how to pack and travel. I also said I was going to talk about my roommates and how you can get along with your roommates.
I have 3 roommates but for the sake of their privacy we are just going to use the first letters of their name. There’s J, K, and D. J is a fanatic about horses and animals in general we were both heart-broken when we found out our roommate K was allergic to cats and dogs. J is also a movie person like me, we have had a lot of fun talking movies and actors and overall character. We are also usually the only ones home. K usually goes to the library to do her homework and hang out with friends almost every night, and D has a job that keeps her pretty busy. D was the first one out of my roommates that I met. K was the last and not because she got here last but because she is rarely home. J I met while she was trying to get into the apartment when the office closed and she couldn’t get her key (she was using the credit card trick to get in the door).
K and I have had a few good laughs together, mainly when she was getting frustrated with me and J for talking during the movies she watches with us. K is also allergic to pretty much everything, we all have a good laugh about it (of course we wouldn’t laugh if she didn’t laugh about it). K is a very nice person she is the one who mainly takes me grocery shopping, she even helped me get to the hospital when I was having problems breathing (it was the middle of the night on a Sunday so we both had classes in the morning). I can tell she is trying to be a friend and is there if anyone needs help. She is a good roommate and friend.
D, well honestly I don’t know much about her. I know she has family in Idaho Falls I think (close enough that she can go visit any time she wants). She has all sisters and I think 2 of them are married. She does join us for family dinner on Sundays and usually stays in the living room with us while we watch movies.
We all get along pretty well, we had this idea of doing Sunday dinner since everyone usually stays in the apartment anyways. Basically we all just take turns cooking dinner. I cooked chili the first time and K made this chicken and rice thing that was pretty good. This week it is D’s turn, no one knows what she’s going to make. Next week it will be J’s turn and then after that me again. We find this adds some unity into the apartment and we usually always have fun watching movies together, and having dinner. It’s also nice that we are all eating the same thing. I was raised where we all had dinner together and the only time someone had something different was if it was fend for yourself kind of night or if someone didn’t like something that was in dinner.
I have been here for 3 weeks and I can say it has not been easy but I guess by the end of the semester we will find out if it was worth it. I can say that while I am out here I will definitely be finding me, who I am away from my family. I have never been away from my family this long so this is a change for me, but my roommates help some because I still have someone I can talk to if I need to and we all do enjoy watching movies together and just relaxing. That helps a lot for me to feel more at home.
So a few tips about how to get along with your roommates:
At first just give them a little space because it is a new thing for everyone but you can go up to them and introduce yourself and say hi.
You could try to joint meal, we have had much success with this and so have some other people I have talked to. Just be sure to ask if they like or dislike something or allergic like K.
Find something all of you can enjoy, we enjoy movies but it could always be anything like playing games or art or whatever.
Of course the golden rule of apartment sharing is respecting someone else’s stuff and space, don’t use or take something without asking first.
If your roommates don’t seem to like you or anything don’t worry, because I thought the same thing about my roommates. Then we started talking and we had family home evening at the pool and then things kind of clicked for us.
The best thing anyone can do to try to get along with their roommates is to try inviting them to do things with you. If they say no once don’t get discouraged, I did the same thing with my roommates and they have done the same thing too, but eventually they will say yes.
Also keep in mind that they might be just as new to the situation of roommates as you are.
My life at BYUI coming from the east coast 