Cold and Compromise: Living with a Roommate

Roommates are tough business. You’re cooped up in a tiny box with one for a full year and let’s face it, you could be the most unobjectionable, peaceful person and you will still want to punch your roommate in the face after a semester of daily interaction. Their stuff will end up on your side and you’ll complain about their mess, but then you’ll do the same thing a week later, one of you will want to stay up late, one of you will want to have friends over really late; there are countless little differences that will come between you and all of a sudden you’ll wonder how you ever thought living with your best friend was a good idea.

My freshman year, the guy I lived with for my first semester was a little nerdy and had an insatiable taste for Perry the Platypus, messy living habits, and an early bedtime. Now there are worse roommates out there. I hear stories of roommates who would steal and break each others’ stuff (mostly girls) because of small arguments about missing hair brushes and jealousy. Still, I had a friend down the hall whose roommate was also friends with my roommate and I proposed a switch. My bestfriend and I have a lot in common. We both love soccer, hanging out with friends, and Family Guy; yet there is still one thing that he and I disagree on: the temperature of the room.

I cannot stand being even a little cold. Temperatures below 50 degrees might as well be sub-arctic since I get the same amount of sleep as if it was -10 degrees. I think I may have a circulation problem in my legs that allows my feet to freeze before any other part of my body. In any case, my roommate sweats in his sleep even if the room is below freezing. This difference has caused many fights since he likes to keep the window on his side of the room open in order to sleep better.

Finally, the other day, we came to an agreement. I would sleep with my socks on if he closed the window during the day, and so far it has been working. I’m still cold in the room during the day because our heater doesn’t work but that is something I’ll need to take up with my RA. For now bundling up in hoodies and sweats will get the job done. Living with a roommate isn’t easy, but it is better when you come into a problem with a mind to compromise and work things out.