Baggage Check: Four Golden Rules for Roommates

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Dr. Andrea Bonior dives into the world of psychology.

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN, when countless college freshmen who have never shared rooms with anyone other than stuffed animals will now be living in tiny cells with stranger. You can't predict what type of roommate dynamic you'll end up with — let's face it, those questionnaires are all for naught. But you can take a few steps to decrease the likelihood that your experience will turn into a horror story.

Four Golden Rules for Roommates:

1. Respect boundaries. This means erring on the side of modesty — with your body, with your bragging, with your late-night uber-personal disclosures. Honor your roommate's personal space as much as possible, by not being in the room every minute of the day, and by not rummaging through her stuff or making a point to listen in on her phone calls. Simple politeness goes a long way.

2. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. You and your roommate might go on to be the best of friends, and lifelong confidantes. But you have plenty of time to let that happen — neither of you are going anywhere. Though a roommate might be a great companion for meal after meal those first few weeks, make sure it doesn't prohibit you from branching out and meeting others. People are a lot more open to new friendships these first few weeks than they will be when midterms are on the horizon. Take advantage of it to get to know a variety of people.

3. Keep an open mind. Don't make any rash judgments about your new roommate just because of religion or politics or hometown or style of dress. Many people who have lived to tell the tale will say that the best part of being paired with someone random is that it opened their eyes to whole new perspectives — and showed them what a great relationship they could have with someone they wouldn't have sought out to meet on their own.

4. Don't get sucked in to unhealthy habits. As much as you don't want to prejudge your roommate, try to be objective about his or her habits. Whether it has to do with sleeping, studying, drinking, sex, eating or drugs, many unhealthy behaviors can spread through college environments like wildfire. Yes, these years are a time where you'll be exposed to many different things, and you might want to test-drive experiences that are different from the ones you've known. But don't get sucked in to the fallacy that because your roommate is doing something, "everyone" is. She could end up flunking out of school within a few months, and if you've picked up some of her habits by inertia, you'll be left to face your own damage yourself.