Starting college means meeting a new group of friends, getting used to a new environment, and placing yourself in unfamiliar (and seemingly scary) situations. And that includes your living arrangement. Whether you decide to live with someone you already know or get placed with a random stranger, sharing space with another person — especially in such close quarters — can be tremendously difficult.
I "met" my first college roommate on our school's Facebook page before our freshman year started. After we messaged each other for all of five seconds, we decided to room together. Thankfully, she became one of my best friends and was one of the best parts of my entire college experience, but I knew plenty of people who weren't as lucky. I heard horror stories from my friends about how they hated being in their own living space because their roommate was so terrible. While I couldn't exactly relate, I did learn what to do if your living situation ends up going awry. Here are some tips to coping with a college roommate you don't get along with.