How to Bond With Your Freshman Roommate

Your Freshman roommate in college is a crucial part to your happiness throughout your first year. So whether you want to be best friends with your roommate or simply set boundaries and go on with your life, it is a good idea to try to get to know and bond with the person you’ll be living in close quarters with for the next 9 months of your life. Personally, I lucked out and my roommate is my absolute best friend in the world but it took a while to get to that place and there are several things you can do to speed up the process from the awkward stage to the almost-like-a-sister stage.

1. Plan Out How to Decorate Your Dorm Over Summer

Having a room that matches or at least has similar colors on each side can really make the space look a lot more homey. Try looking on Pinterest for cute dorm ideas and plan out what each of you should bring to move-in day and how to set up the room. This will be a good ice-breaker to see how controlling or easy going the other roommate is based on how willing she is to negotiate ideas with you.

2. Attend Welcome Activities Together

The first week of school there are always a bunch of activities that the school puts on for new students. Most of them are pretty lame but some of them are mandatory and some of them are actually fun. Me and my roommate went to a paint party the first night we spent in the dorms together and although it is a funny and awkward memory to look back on, it definitely brought us from being just two people sharing a room together to two people beginning a new friendship.

3. Check Out the Dining Hall for Dinner

No one wants to show up to the dining hall for dinner alone for the first time. Ask your roommate if she would mind joining you for dinner. A great way for roommates with different schedules to stay in contact is to plan to have a meal together a few times every week. If you are feeling a little more adventurous, try a new dinner place downtown and make a fun evening out of it!

4. Go to a Party

What is college without going to a party every once in a while? If both of you drink then I’m sure you know by now that there is nothing that can bond two girls together faster than a few tequila shots. On my very first night with my roommate I sat her down with a bottle of vodka and we told each other every secret, childhood memory, and interesting facts about ourselves just to get it all out of the way immediately. If you don’t drink, obviously this is in no way necessary in beginning a friendship; however, it definitely can help speed up the process.

5. Plan a Girl’s Night Together

Once you’ve reached the point of friendship, plan out a night in your dorm where you can fully relax and have a fun girls time. Buy a couple pints of Ben and Jerry’s, get in your sweatpants, and pick a great Chick Flick to cozy up to. If you want to take it to the next level, you can make it a “spa night” and do each others nails and make some face masks to wear. This is the ultimate cliché girly way to bond, but it works like a charm every time.