Bartholomew is a strange one. In fact he’s so strange that he has a very common name but has requested to be called Bartholomew in all future blog accounts of my time here at uni.
Then there’s Alfred. He literally aspires to become Alfred from the Batman comics. Go figure.
My other housemates are only just a little bit more normal… I lie. They aren’t normal. Not even a bit.
But we get on for the most part and that’s what counts.
But what do you do with housemates you can’t get along with?
Here’s my advice…
If you can’t beat them, join them.
Try getting to know them. My housemates last year like to pull pranks every now and again and sometimes it was just easier pretending to laugh it off. But sometimes it wasn’t;
Tell them how you feel.
I find this pretty challenging, or at least face to face, because I really like to be liked. I can be loud and I may even seem aggressive at times, but that’s only how I act with my good friends. I try to play it safe with other people and I try to avoid conflict. But sometimes you can’t do that. Bottling up your emotions is never a good idea because then you’ll get a weird Elsa Complex and then you’ll have to Let It Go and since you don’t have the voice of Idina Menzel, that won’t end well for ANYONE.
So I strongly advice messaging your housemates if you can’t communicate verbally with them coherently. Via text or via Facebook. Whatever works. Just let your voice be heard before you get really aggravated.
Make a cleaning rota.
… or do communal cleans when everyone is available.
Share communal costs to things like kitchen equipment.
Socialise together every now and again.
But for those of you get saddled with the crazies, you may want to consider asking the university for new housing.
