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Roommates

Wow! The next year was totally different. I moved into a house with three people on my floor. Emma and I had been friends all year long, so we found a house (to live in). She asked two other girls that she had become friends with to move in with us. I didn't really know them that well, but I trusted her judgement. We all paid rent the first month and moved in just fine, but then the problems began. Nikki and Emma didn't want Rachel's boyfriend to live at our house because he had his own room at his fraternity house, so we all came up with some rules about how to live respectfully with each other and discussed them.

Rachel went through open (sorority) rush and joined a sorority and decided to move into her chapter's house. This left us with the same amount of rent to cover, but now it would only be split three ways. This was my first lesson in not trusting people to keep their word.

Life goes on, and the three of us got along just fine. Once in a while we would have discussions about boyfriends being around too often, but more often than not I didn't have a clue what Nikki and Emma would fight about. I would listen to both sides and play mediator. It's a crazy world though, when you live with a Business/Finance major that bounces at least three checks a month on a consistent basis. Nikki and I would pay our part of the bill, but it would be sent in late, only after Emma added her check (which was usually rubber). I learned what cut-off notices looked like, and I even covered Emma's share of the rent one month so that she could pay off some of her other bills. I couldn't afford to be that generous though, so she paid my rent the next month.

We all had new circumstances to deal with. Some mornings I would walk downstairs in my robe to take a shower only to find that either Nikki or Emma's boyfriend was already using up the hot water. That was a new one for me! Sometimes I would be home on a weekend all by myself, and Emma's boyfriend would come over and make himself at home while he waited for her to return. I was a bit uncomfortable at first, but that soon wears off. I am sure they didn't appreciate having to play secretary and take zillions of
messages for me, but they tried. We all made compromises and learned to communicate a little bit better. We learned that we didn't all have the same ideas about how to clean a house, but we made charts and had assigned chores; that seemed to work out for us.   Or at least I would like to think so.

All in all, it was a fun year. There were many instances when I just turned my head the other way. Some things just aren't that important to me. If I can avoid conflict, I will. We planned a road trip all year long, but we never all had the weekend free, but we did manage to play a game of Monopoly during finals week when the rest of the OSU world was studying. Nikki and Emma were a part of my sophomore year when I learned about responsibility, frozen dinners, how to light a pilot light, and deal with any other household problem our landlord's handyman didn't ever have time to take care of.

I pledged a sorority as a sophomore, but I didn't move into the chapter house until I was a junior. Talk about change in lifestyle. I had the entire upstairs to myself the year before, and now I shared the same amount of space with three other people. It is fun at times, but it can cramp your lifestyle at other times. Spontaneity is something that can occur at any time. You are always surrounded by people, so it is easy to find someone to go with you wherever you need to go. Other times, you just wish that you had your own space though. We all look out for each other and make sure we go to class and get up on time. If someone is running late, no one hesitates to offer to drive them to class. We all know what it is like to wake up late for class.

I love getting ready together in the morning. We all talk about what all we have to do for the day and we pump each other up. I have grown closer to these roommates because we live in such close proximity and because we are all very down to earth. I don't have to deal with the boyfriends shacking at my house challenge because boys aren't allowed in the dormitory part of the house. This year has many fond memories but they aren't as priceless as the ones I have of my freshman year, because nothing is new anymore. I feel like the veteran college student even though it is only my third year "up here." I have interacted with so many different individuals that I think I can get along with anybody. This isn't certain, but I can sure give it my best shot!!!!!

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QUESTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION

1. What are the advantages of choosing your roommate (living with someone you know)? Disadvantages?
2. How do you think it would be for someone to have to live with you? What would they like and dislike?
3. Have you ever shared a room with someone else? What will be areas of concern for you when you do have to share a room?
4. How will you deal with a roommate who is doing something that bothers you? Will you say nothing and just be mad, or confront them and try to fix the situation?
5. How do you feel about other people borrowing your things? How do you feel about borrowing other people's things?

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