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Dorm Room Compatibility Tips for Roommates
By Anna Young
College life can be very stressful; in addition to the work load and the educational demands of college life, living situations can be less than ideal. Roommates can turn out to be best friends for life, but very often there are tensions and disagreements between roommates which make their shared space anything but comfortable. The room’s decor can be one of the first points of contention between roommates and some rules must be set in place to make life more pleasant for everyone. Embrace your Differences
Very often, roommates are randomly paired up, especially for freshman year, so students don’t have the luxury of choosing a roommate with compatible taste or lifestyle. In most cases, a dorm room includes a desk and chair, beds and bulletin board, and some kind of window curtains or blinds. Some newer dorms already have a color scheme that is reflected in the wall colors, curtain colors and lightweight bedspreads; photos of the assigned dorm room may be available on the college’s website. A room with a harmonious color scheme is more calming than one of utter chaos, so if possible, choose colors that coordinate with fixed features in the room. However, radically different color preferences can often be made more harmonious with a few well chosen accessories. For instance, if one roommate has a green and brown camouflage bedspread and the other has red, a few solid green, brown and red toss pillows can unit the two sides of the room. Each roommate will bring favorite things from home and these choices can be radically different as well: One may be into pink and lime green polka dots while the other is Gothic to the core. The best approach is one of mutual respect: Agree on what is acceptable and agree to refrain from displaying anything that is offensive, demeaning or mean-spirited. This way, even if styles are vastly different, each personality is respected. If you can be agreeable with each other, you may even find a way to combine the two styles: Pink Goth style roses or black and pink polka dots can be a bridge, for instance, to a more harmonious space. Part of the college experience and growing up is learning how to compromise and be tolerant of others, so embrace your differences. Lifestyle Differences
Even roommates who have very different styles, tastes, personalities and beliefs can be compatible with mutual understanding and respect. Roommates need to talk to each other and be sure that each is clear about what is off limits and what is uncomfortable for each person. If one roommate is a smoker and the other is not, for instance, the smoker should only smoke outside the room, even if smoking is allowed in the dorm. Privacy should always be respected and certain parameters should be agreed upon for quiet and study time, dating, visiting with friends, listening to music, and so forth. By talking about these issues up front and agreeing on how they will be handled, many disagreements will never even happen. Photo credit to flutterbright .
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 |  | onlineMD liked this intel. Feb 7, 2012 |  | | R Foreman liked this intel. Feb 7, 2012 |  | | Grace liked this intel. Feb 7, 2012 |  | | noline liked this intel. Feb 7, 2012 |  | | odls liked this intel. Feb 8, 2012 |
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Some very practical points made to address what could be real issues for some students at college. Well done!
 | | odls Feb 8, 2012 05:32 | |
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This intel was contributed by Anna Young
Anna Young
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May, 2012
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