Hannah: Hey! Having A Roommate Isn’t All That Bad!

I grew up an only child. Because of this, I like to have my space. I got used to a quiet household and being alone in my room for hours. When I came to BU, I was super nervous about having a roommate. However, I am now pro-roommate! I currently share a double with CA Maddy and let me tell ya, we have the roommate situation DOWN. Here are a few reasons why I love having a roommate: 

Photo 1

1. You have a shoulder to lean on (and you can be the shoulder too!)  

As the R.E.M. song states, “Everybody Hurts.” It is normal to get sad or overwhelmed with missing home, schoolwork, social pressures and so much more. I have burst into tears in my room and been lucky to have Maddy there to give me a hug. Even if you aren’t BFFs with your roommate, that person will be there for you! Even a small, “Hey, wanna talk?” can make all the difference. 

2. You develop open communication skills.

Everyone has a unique way of living. You are bound to disagree on something with your roommate and that is a-okay. If your roommate is doing something that isn’t your cup of tea, you learn to tell them how you feel and have a conversation to foster healthy compromises.

3. You learn how to take criticism.

Here’s a little secret. I was forgetting to turn off the lights in our dorm (ahh!) and Maddy texted me asking if I could start doing it. I’m happy she told me that! I was being a careless goose and now, because of her, I have minimized my global footprint.

4. You become more selfless.

When you are living with someone, you get a view into their world and this sparks empathy. When I am home, it’s not just me and my thoughts, I get to have conversations and observe how I am not the only person going through life’s normal struggles

5. You grow deeper friendships.

Not all roommates have to best friends for life, but I’m thankful to have a great friend in Maddy. However, because I live with her, we cannot physically talk all day every day. This grows our friendship because we are comfortable sitting in silence and enjoying each other’s company without social pressure.

6. You get design inspiration 

You get to see how someone else decorates and organizes their life. It’s like a real-world Pinterest and that’s pretty darn cool.

So the next time you say, “I have a roommate,” say it with pride! Roommates are dope and they don’t get enough credit. This one goes out to you, CA Maddy!Photo 2

 

Abby: Trans-Campus Moving

This weekend I moved into a new dorm.  It was a whirlwind week of packing, and unpacking, going from the one Residence Assistant Office to another and calling the BU Housing Office.  But all said and done I’m absolutely in love with my new room.  I’m now living in a brownstone on Baystate Road.  My room is on the backside of the house and my window looks onto the Charles River and the Esplanade.  Because of my class and work schedule, living on the east side of campus is much more convenient than living in West Campus.  Each student is different- the girl that moved out of this room swapped with me so she could live in West Campus to be closer to the gym and her friends that lived over there.

The process I went through to move part way through a semester is called a Pull-In and works like this- If there is a vacancy in a room anywhere on campus then whoever is currently living in that room can “pull-in” someone to fill the vacancy.  In my case my friend was the one moving and introduced me to her former roommate.  We got along really well and she agreed to pull me into the room.  (You can find more information about this and other room change processes at http://www.bu.edu/housing/.)

I had a ton of help from my new housemates to move my things from one end of campus to the other.  Of course I picked the coldest day of the semester so far to move, but they were troopers and I’m so grateful for them.  To move everything I rented a big yellow moving bin from the Residence Assistant office at my new dorm. They are available all year for moving and especially at the beginning and end of the year for move-ins and move-outs.  Then we took it to west campus to load it up and pushed it all the way back up Commonwealth Ave to Baystate.  I’m sure we looked like a traveling circus act.  After that all I had to do was unpack and decorate my new room.  I can’t wait to finish out the semester on Baystate.  It already feels like home.