With a start of a new school year comes rooming with another person; whether that be in the same room or sharing the same apartment or house. Going on my senior year of college and living with a direct roommate all of these years has taught me a couple of things and taught me to learn from my mistakes.

Having separate lives outside of your roommate is definitely important. Living with someone can be a lot to handle even if it's your best friend. Find your own thing; whether that be going to the gym, joining an organization or just making different friends. It's important to not constantly be with your roommate or small things will start to annoy each other. My first roommate and I had the same friends on our floor and we'd both complain about each other to the same people which put our friends in an awkward situation. It's normal to want to rant about your roommate and still love living with them. This is why it is helpful to have separate friends to give an outside perspective on the issues you might be having.

Being open with your roommate is key. Start the year off by telling each other what are things that annoy you. Some people like the room being cold while others like to be warm or some people like to have their room always clean while others might not mind a mess. You can't read your roommate's mind so it's good to start off by asking them these questions. Especially if they have a significant other or have a lot of friends wanting to sleep over. There are times when your roommate might be stressed about school and might not want guest over. It's important to be open about all of these things.

Especially if something comes up that you didn't talk about that is now annoy you. If someone isn't cleaning enough, taking the trash out or doing their dishes. Calmly talk about it before it starts to anger you. Take it from someone who hates confronting an issue until I am angry, it won't get better if you don't talk. If you avoid the problem, it won't change anything that is upsetting you and things will stay the same. When nothing changes, you will slowly start to dislike your roommate then other small things will start to annoy you that they do. Then your living space isn't as enjoyable to live in.

Hopefully, these things help you with your future roommate. Being open and honest with your roommate will help to keep your living environment calm and fun. I wish I listened to some of the advice people gave me when I disliked my roommate. It eliminates so much stress to enjoy living with someone.