By Stephen Lee As students, we all want to be able to experience new places and meet new friends. Living in dormitories is one of the most popular approaches when it comes to attending university in different cities. However, many students living in dorms encounter roommates whose different lifestyles can cause problems. I am currently in that situation. I have a roommate with particular habits that don’t really work well with me. So here are some ideas to help students around NTU who are currently living with “bad” roommates. Mr/Miss Untidy
This is the roommate who is always messy. In other words, he or she is someone who leaves his or her belongings all over the floor and tables and chairs. Whether it is leaving clothes and books all over the place or piled up on his or her side of the room, it is very uncomfortable to look at. The Invisible Person This is when the roommate is present in the room, but it feels like he or she is not even there. This roommate is someone who will only look at the computer or read books and does not like to chat or engage in conversation. This anti-social behaviour makes you invisible to your roommate. So when you talk, you talk alone. The Party Animal Is your roommate someone who is popular amongst his friends? If this is the case, you better look out! If you have a Party Animal roommate, he or she will bring lots of friends over to your room and host parties there. Lots of problems can arise, such as noise control or messiness. Even your privacy can be ruined by this type of roommate. Becoming the Third Wheel This is perhaps the most awkward situation for people with roommates who have boyfriends or girlfriends. Sometimes, roommates will invite their partner over. This is especially awkward if you’re in the room at the same time. Thankfully, I have not bumped into this scenario, but I imagine that I would become a third wheel and have to listen to them talk cute to each other. Otherwise I would probably be forced to leave the room. Of course, there should be a mutual agreement between you and your roommate before either one of you invites a friend over. The Hungry Hippo When you buy food, always make sure you hide it well. There are roommates who open the fridge and eat whatever he or she finds, even if it belongs to you. I have had a close encounter with this. My roommate loves to eat and always opens the fridge whenever he is hungry. One day, I went grocery shopping and put some of my favourite pudding in the fridge as soon as I arrived home. A few minutes later, my roommate returned and immediately opened the fridge to find food. He saw the pudding and was about to take it. Thankfully, he asked me whether he could eat it, but I said no. My Pudding! The Polar Bear We all know that air conditioning consumes quite a lot of electricity. Not only does it cost a lot, it can also be too cold at times. Whenever I walk into my room after class, the air conditioning is on. Since I get home in the late afternoon, air conditioning feels nice and cold. One time, however, I was frozen awake by air conditioning. I was very tired and fell asleep first while my roommate was playing computer games. When I went to bed, I had the windows open and the air conditioning off. The next morning, I suddenly woke up at 6 a.m. with cold arms and legs. I got out of bed to switch the air conditioning off, but it was too late. The room was too cold to fall asleep again. Not a pleasant experience. The Midnight Jukebox For me, this is perhaps the most difficult part of living with roommates. Sometimes they will make a lot of noise during the night. Talking in their sleep is quite common and can be very annoying. It varies from whispering to screaming, depending on whether your roommate is having nightmares or is feeling stressed. My personal experience is having to listen to my roommate snore. Loudly. Of course, there is nothing we can do about people who snore. We just have to deal with it. In conclusion, these are a few things to look out for when you live with a roommate. Many of them can be discussed with your roommate beforehand, but for others, I’m afraid you will simply have to get used to them! a
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The Taida Student Journal has been active since 1995 with an ever-changing roster of student journalists at NTU. Click the above link to read about the authors Archives
May 2024
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