‘I figured I would be close to my roommate because we had the same major. Boy, was I wrong.’

UVA roommate horror stories

Possibly one of the biggest adjustments in college is learning to share your (tiny) space with someone else. Whether they end up being your best friend or the bane of your existence, your First Year roommate is pretty much impossible to avoid. We asked students to share their most “memorable” roommate experiences, and it certainly sounds like some of us had it easier than others…

Your First Year dorm room: AKA where it all goes down

“My roommate left her puke in the trash can for three days. She acknowledged that it had been there for that long, but then said I could take it out if it bothered me…”

-Grace, Second Year

“My roommate had a Beta fish that she called Peter, and she would talk to him every night before going to bed and sometimes in the morning. She would also sometimes try to reach into the bowl and pet him, and when I told her that probably wasn’t a good idea, all she did was stare at me…”

-Matilda, Third Year

“My roommate gave me a list of the things that were ‘wrong with me.'” 

-Natalia, Third Year

Disclaimer: most of these are not true.

“I figured I would probably be close to Kelly because we were the same major and had common interests. Boy, was I wrong. I knew Kelly was the biggest diva I had ever met from the second she walked into the room on move-in day. She would also randomly moan, to herself, out loud, with me in the room. BIZARRE. One Friday afternoon, Kelly introduced me to Nic. Yes, Nic WITHOUT the “k.” He was friendly and whatnot so I figured everything would be fine if he spent the night. After all, he wasn’t even her boyfriend. That night I was asleep in my bed and all of a sudden, I woke up to kissing from across the room (which seemed bizarre to me since they were ‘just friends’). After it finally ended and I was slowly drifting off, I heard something that sounded similar to a bear roaring at its prey. Guess what? Nic snores. I didn’t think humans could make such loud, horrible noises until I heard Nic snore. Needless to say, the next time Nic showed up at the door, I knew it was time to make other sleeping arrangements.”

-Maggie, Third Year

“My roommate refused to leave the room whenever my girlfriend came over. He would stay in his bed and just hide under the covers, not making a peep. It was super uncomfortable, especially because our beds were, like, 3 feet apart. He also only ate Cheez-its, but sometimes I would find random Cheez-its in my bed. Don’t really want to think about how they got there.”

-Dylan, Second Year

“In our two semesters together, I don’t think I ever saw Nate do laundry. Occasionally when he went home for a weekend he would bring his dirty clothes with him, but most of the time they just piled up in various places around our microscopic dorm room. The pile started on his desk chair, then grew to cover his desk, once there was no room left there, the clothes migrated to the area around his desk and on top of our shared refrigerator. It didn’t take long before the layer of dirty laundry coating his side of the room was saturated with a fair amount of trash under and in it, as if the clothes themselves weren’t enough. At first the trash was harmless enough, but that would not remain the case. I’ll never forget the day I discovered a half eaten Hero and a side order of french fries beneath the pile while harmlessly searching for our X-box controller. The food was black, green, moist, and covered in mold. I couldn’t even begin to guess how long his meal had been decaying there. I dropped the container immediately and left the room. I came back late that night– the leftovers were gone, and Nate was asleep. We never spoke of it, and honestly I’m only 50% sure he actually threw it out.”

-Jake, Second Year

So next time you get annoyed with your roommate for using the printer while you’re asleep or leaving his/her clothes on the floor, this is a gentle reminder that it could always be worse. Go Hoos!

 

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