While little is to be feared amongst college dorming, many students find themselves anxious before the start of each school year as they anticipate the stranger(s) with whom they will be living with for the next nine months. Here at Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC), living in New York City can be weird enough, but having a roommate with even weirder habits only adds to the experience. Recently, on Jimmy Fallon’s Late Night Hashtags segment, he created the tag #myroommateisweird, resulting in thousands of responses.

In order to celebrate the true oddities amongst OUR community, I asked around for weird roommate experiences, so as to offer advice to those in similar situations (names have been changed to protect privacy). McMahon Hall resident Hillary*, FCLC ’17, recalled dorming with a girl who was “unclean and [didn’t] do much. She’d make  food and not clean up after herself.” While those dorming in McMahon have the luxury of a kitchen, the issue of dishes has always been an area of concern amongst roommates, as some have no problem letting them pile up, while others are eager to clean them right away. Chores are an easy problem to work out amongst roomates with simple communication, however, we are only human, and error is inevitable. Food is another issue entirely, as one has to be tolerable of others’ food preferences, no matter how strange they may seem to us. 

It is important to address your living standards early on, so you and your roommate can find a middle ground, if necessary. 

McKeon Hall resident Anna*, FCLC ’18,  claims to have a roommate who makes sleep a not-so-easy task. Rolling her eyes, she said, “My roommate sings at the top of her lungs every night before bed; it is in her nature though … she’s a theater major.” Sleep habits and bedtime rituals are often areas for conflicts between new roommates. However, it is important to understand your roommates habits; knowing and accepting that habits are essentially part of someone’s DNA makes tolerating their weird habits even easier. 

John*, FCLC ’17, lives in McMahon Hall and remembered living with a roommate who would wait months to do his laundry, which made their entire room smell bad. “I felt like I was living in a dirty sock,” he said while his nose scrunched up, implying the putrid smell he had to bear with.  Okay, so we might have all been there: little by little, laundry piles up, we get lazy and before we know it, our whole wardrobe is in our laundry bin. But a few months? If there is one thing you should have learned about the city by now, it would be that you should probably wash your clothes after every time you wear them, especially if you have been running around all day. If your roommate’s habits are jeopardizing your well-being, don’t be afraid to politely sit down and talk about possible ways to find a solution so the both of you are able to live comfortably and happily. 

*Asterisks denote that names have been changed.

Have a #WeirdRamRoommate experience? Tweet us @fordhamobserver