10 Reasons Having a Roommate Is the Worst
I’ve had the same roommate for the last two-and-a-half years. We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve taken late night trips to CVS to satisfy sudden food cravings. We’re practically sisters. This past semester, however, I have decided to live alone, not because I hate the aforementioned roommate but because I wasn’t able to fit her in my luggage. Living in a single has opened my eyes to all of the reasons why having a roommate isn’t always enjoyable. For example:
1) You never get alone time.
Despite my efforts to socialize with other human beings, I have been unable to shake my introvert status. This poses a problem when you live with another person, especially one who wants to gossip about the day’s events every time she sees you. Finding time to just bask in the silence of your room suddenly becomes a struggle against time as you’re forced to work around your roommate’s schedule.
2) Working is impossible.
One too many times, I have returned to my dorm room after a long day of classes ready to start an assignment only to have my roommate walk in with a laundry list of things she wants to discuss. Sometimes, like when you’ve been holed up in the library for 12 hours and you’re craving human interaction, such conversations are welcome. Other times, when you had planned on finishing your work before the weekend without having to go back to your designated study spot, reading your textbook in the rain sounds more appealing than talking to anyone.
3) You have to deal with their poor alarm clock habits.
I’ve already come to the conclusion that I would hate living with myself because I’m guilty of this problem a million times over. While some roommates (mostly morning people) can get up at the sound of their first alarm and thus avoid waking up the entire building, others, like me, must snooze at least twice in order to have the energy to deal with the world and all its problems.
4) You’ll be forced to share pretty much everything.
You can mumble “sharing is caring” to yourself all you want but it still doesn’t make it any easier to swallow your anger when your roommate borrows your clothes, or even your pencils, without asking. When you live with someone else, sharing your personal goods is practically an unspoken rule, which can get frustrating when you return to your room and find half of your food gone and your office supply drawer raided.
5) Their business becomes your business, and vice versa.
I’ve always been very private about my personal life. I don’t like talking in depth about my love life or emotions, though I’m always glad to listen to someone else’s. When you’re forced into close quarters with another person for a long period of time, though, this rule doesn’t always hold up. Live with someone long enough and you either end up forfeiting your right to privacy or developing a lying habit that would make Walter White proud.
6) There are always unexpected guests.
Having a roommate is a good way to meet new people because they’re constantly inviting over members of their friend circle. Sometimes, though, this friendliness can go too far. When your roommate invites her boyfriend over the day before a big exam and lets him stay all week, it’s only natural to want to curl up in a ball and cry.
7) You can’t do chores at your own pace.
One thing that I particularly enjoy about living away from home is the ability to complete my chores whenever I want. I don’t have to do laundry every two days and if I want to leave a mountain of dishes next to my bed, there’s no one around to tell me not to. At least, that’s what you expect to happen when you live with a roommate instead of your mother. Most of the time, though, you end up getting dirty looks or passive-aggressive notes telling you to sweep your side of the room, at which point you begin to wonder why you left home at all.
8) Everything becomes a war of attrition.
Attrition warfare is defined as “a wearing down or weakening of resistance, especially as a result of continuous pressure or harassment” (Dictionary.com). This happens on the battlefield when one side cuts off the other side’s resources and waits for them to surrender. This happens in a living situation when one person makes demeaning comments about their roommate’s lack of cleanliness within earshot so that said person will remove their two-week old dishes from the sink. (I don’t actually think I used this term right so feel free to correct me.)
9) Different sleep schedules can become a problem.
If a morning person and a night owl are put in a room together, there is a zero percent chance the pair will work out in the long run, even if they are a perfect match otherwise. I say this because the morning person will inevitably come into the room at 10 o’clock at night wanting to go to sleep while the night owl is just opening his or her textbook, ultimately causing a roommate showdown that ends in a lot of angry grumbling.
10) Random dance parties are no longer an option.
Sometimes, the only solution to pent-up energy is a random dance party, complete with headphones, Taylor Swift, and a lot of head-bobbing. With a roommate, you’re constantly in danger of being caught in the act, which only adds to the stress you were trying to get rid of in the first place.
What other reasons are there to not have a roommate? Do you have a roommate story bad enough to convince the masses that living in a single is the way to go?
Featured image via ShutterStock
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