New students are faced with many new challenges and experiences when arriving on a big campus.

You’re responsible for finding the buildings your new classes will be in, which requires getting to know Iowa State’s campus very quickly. All of a sudden you’re responsible for feeding yourself and maintaining a sleep schedule that is much different than some are used to. And if you’re living with a random roommate, you have to do all this while also adjusting to sharing close quarters with a complete stranger. 

Let’s face it, getting to know a complete stranger can be awkward. Even if you have everything in common with the person, there’s still that initial step of contacting them and introducing yourself.

Luckily, Facebook is there to “creep” thoroughly on your new roommate. It can also serve as a good tool for making that initial contact. Mikayla Pick, junior in child, adult and family service, knows the importance of this.

“My roommate and I talked on Facebook and through texts before moving in,” Pick said. “She seemed nice and we were able to figure out what to bring.”

Once it comes time for moving in, it’s important to make a good impression and set some ground rules between the two of you. If not, you could be off to a rocky start that creates problems later on. This is one thing that Pick and her roommate didn’t do.

“It seems like there’s obvious things that you just shouldn’t do right away,” Pick said. “But we could have avoided some issues if we had talked about them when we first moved in.”

Some of these issues include giving each other space when needed and checking beforehand if it’s okay if certain people come over. Even if it doesn’t seem like a big deal to have your boyfriend or girlfriend stay the night, you should still be courteous about how your roommate feels.

Then, know that even if they say they are OK with it, dorm rooms feel crowded with only two people, and having another one around all of the time will create stress for even the most tolerant roommate.

If you want to maintain a good relationship with the person you live with, then try your best to make them feel comfortable around you and your friends. One definite no is being promiscuous when your roommate is around, which happened in Pick’s case.

“My roommate and her guy friend would mess around even when I was sitting in the room,” Pick said. “At first I just let her do her own thing until it became more of a problem.”

If things escalate to the point where your roommate is sleeping in your bed with someone else, or getting really upset when you try to confront them, it might just be best to find a different roommate or get a single room.

“I didn’t talk to her about my issues until later on,” Pick said.”By then she was telling her friends that I was just being stupid.” 

Though Pick’s first roommate didn’t work out, her second one is now one of her best friends. Some ways to make sure you have a good relationship is to make a valid attempt to make each other feel comfortable.

“My second roommate was a lot more respectful of giving me my space and asking me if certain situations were cool with me,” Pick said.

No one wants their freshmen roommate story to be a scary one. Choosing to have a random roommate includes some risk that you’ll be paired with someone you don’t get along with. But if you take steps to make them more comfortable around you and are respectful of their space, it can make living with a stranger a lot more enjoyable.