LIVING IN PEACE WITH YOUR ROOMATES, A MUST-HAVE FOR EVERY STUDENT

I've heard quite a lot of friends who complain alot about their roommates and the troubles they give them and most of them come running to me for advice. Most of these complaints are always centered on "dirty roommates, snobbish roommates, roommates that are selfish or call girls. In school, especially in higher institutions, provisions are always made for students to live in hostels and share rooms and toilets. In such situations, students tend to act the way they want without considering the next person's feelings. This is where it becomes pertinent that one learns how to love and live in peace with one's roommate no matter what. Before i start listing the tips, i would love to tell you about an experience a friend shared to me about a week ago. Her name is Amara, my friend. She is in her final year and ever since we knew each other in first year, I have found that she finds it very difficult to live with people. she would always complain about one character or the other. I had it up to my neck the day she came to my room talking about how one of her roomates ate like a dog and blah blah blah. she was talking about her roomates for more than 1 hour that I got so angry and started to yell at her. I surprised myself and her when i began to speak. i told her all the fault she had too. "does she know that she snorts whenever she laughs and i find that very irritating? does she realizes she snores nore than thw fattest man on earth? does she know that i hate the fact that i have been wanting to tell her that  she had mouth odour all these while but have refrained from doing so because it will hurt her feelings? does she know that she has an attitude problems and blames it all on other?

After speaking to her, Amara was so quite. She did not expect that from me and i did not apologize. I just told her to leave my room and never come back until she begins to settle well with her roommates. I did not see her until yesterday when she came to my room with an apologetic and appreciate expression and started to thank me for what i did for her. As i am writing this stuff, she is sitting next to me, giving me a whole lot of tips to write in here and I hope you enjoy them.

1. COORDINATE YOURSELF
 The first thing to do when you enter a room that you are not sharing alone is to coordinate yourself. What I mean by Coordination is having a sense of cleanliness and arrengement. learn how to keep your things in order and very clean. If you wake up in the morning, make your bed very neatly with a clean bedsheet, wash your plates and arrange them in order. you must not have the whole money in the world before you do this. Cleanliness has a mark of respect it gives to people. Poor people who aye neat and tidy are more respected than Rich people who are dirty and scattered. Beside, you would love your roommates to emulate you. When you keep your stuffs clean and your roommate does otherwise, your roommate will feel awful about the untidiness and resolve to make her corner look like yours.

2. BE THE FIRST TO GREET YOUR ROOMMATES IN THE MORNING
This is very important in every room and family. Greeting shows a mark of respect for everybody. Even if you are older than all your roommates, do not wait for them to greet you first. If you do that, you will be surprised you won't get any greetings at all and that will hurt you, right? In other to avoid having issues with your roommates, greet them when you wake up, ask them how their night was. That will make them feel like you care and that will gain you more respect than otherwise.

3. DO NOT BORROW TOO MUCH FROM YOUR ROOMMATES OT ASK THEM FOR THINGS THAT ARE VERY PERSONAL OR THINGS YOU CAN BUY NEXT DOOR
It's ok to ask your roommates for things you don't have now and then but problem arises when it becomes a habit. How often do you beg your roommates for food and water? these are things every one is meant to have. Do you ask them for their clothes and shoes? that will bring insults to you. If you are a lady, do you ask your fellow ladies for sanitary pad, something very personal? Do you often ask them for money without pay-back or delay of pay-back. if you borrow stuffs from your roommate, do not keep it. give it back at the scheduled time, do not wait for the person to ask you for it, it will create quarells among you. The best thing to do is to avoid the opportunities that make you beg too much. Be independent. Independence creates respect and peace.


4. INTERACT WITH YOUR ROOMMATE AT ALL TIMES
When people who live together talk alot about their feelings, they begin to live like brothers and sisters and then ignore most of their mistakes and weaknesses. If you have roommates, how often do you ask them about work, about their families, about their boyfriends, how often do you talk about things happening in the society? In all the room I've been in throughout my university, all my roommates always took me as their favourite because i had no problem with interaction. I knew all there is to know about each of them. I knew that my roommate was married to one of the biggest stars in Nigeria, my other roommates were oblivious of that fact. Why? because i took them as my family away from my home. Before any of them went out, I always ask them where they were going. I made every of their business my business and that was why i never lacked anything. whenever i say "OH boy, HUnger won Wire me", all of the, rush to give me something to eat and you know what i do at that moment? I bring everything we have together and we'd all eat together. sometimes, i tell one of my roomates to go for a walk with me. On the walk, we would talk about everything about anything, even about relationship matters and I am always there to offer my shoulders.


5. TELL YOUR ROOMMATES WHAT HE/SHE DOES YOU DO NOT LIKE AND OFFER WAYS FOR IMPROVEMENT

6. EAT AND PRAY TOGETHER IF YOU ARE IN THE SAME RELIGIOUS DENOMINATION

7. KNOW WHEN YOUR ROOMMATES WANT SPACE. DONT BE A TALKATIVE

8. ALWAYS RENDER ADVICE WHEN NECESSARY

9. MAINTAIN CONTACTS BY CALLING OR VISITING YOUR ROOMMATES DURING HOLIDAY.

10. SHARE GIFTS DURING SPECIAL OCCASIONS LIKE BIRTHDAYS, VALENTINE'S DAY, CHRISTMAS AND EASTER.