Swoop Scoop

Written by: Sutherland Beever

Remember the following:

1.  If you’re stressing, odds are they are too

At this point in the year students are buzzing about the end of school, of course not all of them are buzzing in a good way.  Finals are just around the corner, summer classes have to be chosen, and everyone has to move out of the dorms.  Sometimes it’s easy to forget that our roommates are human just like you.  So, if you are stressing about anything, they probably are too.  Perhaps venting would be the best way to handle the situation, and it could strengthen your bond.

2.  You live there, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot of time in your dorm

It’s normal for a student to consider their dorm a home, but remember when you were 16 with that new car, and you were dying to get out of the house?  If your roommate is driving you to the edge of madness here’s what you do: leave.  It’s that easy.  The beach is 10 minutes away, go for a drive, take a walk, anything that gets you out of that confined space.

3.Take advantage of the gym, intermural teams, or clubs to vent your frustration

UNF is great about having tons of intermural teams and tons of other activities that can easily focus your mind away from strangling that annoying roommate of yours.  If you need to make some new friends, there are over 100 registered clubs on campus, go find them.  Or if you feel like running until you’re too tired to remember what your roommates annoying voice sounds like – take a trip to the gym.

4.  Use your RA

Remember those people that wave every time they see you, make door decorations with your names on them, and attempt to drag you to programs?  They are called resident assistants and roommate conflicts are part of their job.  If you need to yell at someone about how your roommate never cleans up his cereal in the morning, or how she always has friends over, here is your chance.  RA’s have all had roommates before and have all dealt with arguing residents.  All you have to do is flag your RA down and tell them you want to chat.

5.  Brighten your space

It’s a proven fact that the happier your living space, the happier you will be.  By now, I’m sure you have already decked out your dorm, but maybe it’s time to go to Wal-Mart and get that poster you’ve been looking at, or that full size mirror all rooms desperately need.

6.  Move into the living room

This suggestion is only for serious circumstances, but it does work if you have gotten to the point where your roommates face makes you violently ill.

7.  Make tally lists

If your main problem is that your roommate is as lazy as a sloth, then this suggestion is right up your alley.  Post a list on the refrigerator with your name, your roommate’s name, and a list of shared chores.  The most common I can think of are: dishes, sweeping, cleaning the bathroom, and trash.  And after every time you do something give yourself a tally mark.  Eventually your roommate is going to look at that list and realize how amazingly productive you are, and how unproductive they have been, and start doing chores.

8.  Label your stuff

I am mostly referring to food with this suggestion, because the “she ate my pizza rolls” seems to be the biggest complaints I hear.  I understand that it’s not always possible to remember which flavor of Ramen you bought on your last trip to Publix, so it’s necessary to label your food.  Of course, before you do so, you have to slip it into conversation with your roommate that you’re only doing this because you are afraid of eating their food.  You’re so sneaky.

9.  Hang out with friends who have no idea who your roommate is

Hopefully you didn’t meet every single one of your friends through your roommate, because right now you need to find someone that has no clue who the horrible person you are forced to live with is.  This way there is no way that your roomie will be brought up in conversation.  If you only have mutual friends, it’s going to be necessary to bake some cookies, put them on a plate, and find the biggest group of students you can find on the green.  They will love to be your friends since you’re offering them delicious nutrition!

10.  Leave friendly notes/pictures on the bathroom mirror in expo marker; they look adorable, and they are guaranteed to simply wipe off

After you and he-who-shall-not-be-named got into a huge fight (again) it may be necessary to leave them cute pictures on the bathroom mirror.  I promise that expo markers will come off exceedingly easy, but they will do the trick to warm up that sourpuss.  Of course if that doesn’t work, I hope you saved some of those cookies.