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We all live with people around us. Are you a student that lives in the same room with one or two other people? Do you have flatmates? are you living with a friend? a close or distant family member? Do you find it hard to pay for your rent thus leaving you no choice than to accommodate a stranger or a friend in order to split bills? Are you facing an accommodation problem, do you squat, float or move around friend’s places at night? Are you even considering having a roommate? It is true that many people are in different situations that result in them having a roommate. Living or sleeping in the same room with another person is not easy. Siblings that share the same room sometimes are in conflict let alone living or sharing rooms with a stranger. (Read an interesting article on How to Make Close Friends here)
The truth is that we come from different homes, environments and we all have different backgrounds and home training. Apart from this, humans have a different personality, traits, and behaviors which will always result in disagreement when such people inhabit each other.
1. Study and Understand Your Roommate(s)
The first thing to do when you find yourself in a room with one or more roommates is to study them. Be the gentle one for few weeks. Look at what he or she likes, dislikes and study their temperaments. It is very easy to be friends with other people when you know their behaviors. You will know everything about your roommate(s) within a short period of time. After studying them, understand them and know them for who they are. (Why You Don’t Have Close Friends)
2. Treat Them According To Who They Are
Treating your roommates according to who they do not mean retaliation but rather playing your cards well. After getting to know their ways of life and behavior, the next thing to do is to work on yourself to avoid getting on their nerves or bad sides. If you are not the owner of the room and you find yourself living with an organized person, you have to be neat and to be organized, put things the way the owner left them, lay the bed, arrange the room, pack the dirty clothes, wash the dirty place when due and do things the way the owner wants it to be. If the room is in form of the school hostels, do not trespass, mind your business and do everything you need to do in your niche. Avoid deliberate actions that will make you land on the bad sides of your roommates. (How to Maintain Your Friendship, When a Third Person Joins the Circle)
3. Avoid Gossiping
The common cause disagreement among roommates, especially among ladies is gossip. If you want to maintain peace with your roommates, you have to keep your mouth shut. Do not spill your secrets neither should you poke nose into their business or talks. If you are fortunate to know things, keep them to yourself and avoid the act of gossip. Be deaf and dumb to your roommates. (How to get your Friend Back After A Fight Or Misunderstanding)
4. Let Them Know Who You Are
It is not good to suffer in silence. Let your roommates know what you can or cannot take or cope with. Do not be their errand boy or girl, neither should you allow them to trample on your ego. Tell them if you are offended by their actions and stand your points against anything you do not like. Be strict and at the same time open. Make sacrifices when necessary and to those that worth it. Be yourself and stop worrying about stepping on their toes to the detriment of your happiness. (Give and Take: The Twin Concept of Love)
5. Love and Care For Them
Be a loving and caring roommate. Give when you have and care for them when they are down. Console them with words and material things when they are passing through hard times. Do not retaliate wrongdoings and allow them to learn from you. Make a positive impact wherever you find yourself.