I think one of life's greatest challenges has to be living with people. Having at least one room mate can make all the difference in how you get along with people. Obviously no one is perfect, especially not when it comes to lifestyle, no two people are alike. However it takes two to tango and both parties need to be able to work together to sort things out. All kinds of feelings fester when left alone and are not acknowledged. Kind of like the night you wanted to spend in studying and they threw a party and blared music until 4am. Or the time your phone charger went missing.
The best thing to do is iron out the kinks right from the get go. At least that's the advice I've been given, however for any twenteen's who are in the same room mate boat, it's easier said then done. The room mate cycle as I like to call it has been proven time and time again during the 3 years I have attended school. It starts out with everyone on their best behavior; dishes being washed promptly, garbage being taken out consistently, no loud parties during the week. Then around the third month in things start to creep up on you. That nagging question of where your food is disappearing to or the I swear I left a beer in the fridge. Of course neither party will come forward to address the issues and so begins the deterioration of the fragile semi friendship you had going. The fourth month in its almost too much to take. Seriously cooking food at 2am, why is that necessary, plants being thrown off the balcony and a feeling of inconsideration and disrespect takes hold. Any sort of peaceful resolution has now faded and is replaced with resentment. Following this a confrontation, or at least an attempt at sharing your feelings. However no one is willing to take responsibility for their actions. The next few months simmer with resentment and sparse tolerance of each others behavior. Whether or not you knew them or not before, living with people can make or break your relationship and problem solving skills. It's much easier to let things slide and pay the consequences later. Compose yourself, down that bottle of Bob Marley's mellow mood and face the innocent face of your room mate who has not a clue of their inconsiderate actions. Sometimes you just have to grin and bare it. Pick your battles, it is really worth getting upset about those dirty dishes or can I save my argument for something more justifiable. Living with a person is only half the battle, getting a long with them for the remainder of the time is the other half. Showing each other respect goes a long way and really clearing the air before throwing a party makes the difference. However hoping that subtle hints will let them know how your feeling is not. Sometimes people are unprepared going into a room mate situations. Prepare yourself by committing to a room mate agreement, being honest about your life style and agreeing to discuss things that are bothering you. That puts less pressure on the both of you of feeling attacked by each other. Wording is also key in handling situations, if you can word something in a way that doesn't put the other on the defensive you will go a lot further when trying to explain your point. Perhaps even asking what you can do better. Another discussion for another day. Meg For many of us Twenteens we have a keeping up with the Jones's mentality. Our face goes green with envy when we pass by the girl with the Hunter boots, Canada goose jacket and Iphone 5. Why can't that be me you ask? Well for starters anyone who has the money to blow on trending items that are over priced couldn't have been in the position of choosing between buying groceries or a new dress to go out in on a Friday night. I personally would choose the latter. It's not that eating isn't important (trust me it is), it's just if you're going out with your friends, food ranks slightly lower on your priorities.
Anyway getting off the topic of budgeting. Budgeting I personally find very difficult. Who has time to constantly keep track of what they are buying? A lot of the want items magically find themselves in the need list. Seperating the two is pretty difficult, especially since you can't exactly wear your toilet paper out to a social event. For me anyway I'm always shocked to check my bank statements to see someone..definitely couldn't be me, bought dinner at Dairy Queen, I mean I have entire fridge full of food, how in my right mind did I spend 8 dollars on a dinner... Sadly I find the majority of my purchases, where I guess I could be saving money (another foreign word..Saving..it just doesn't sound right) are on food! It amazes me how much I can eat in a week... I'm like a bottomless pit. I truly believe if people ate at home they would save so much money. Perhaps even buy those new shoes I've been eyeing in Aldo for a while. By a while I mean December and in fashion lingo I'm soo far behind the 8 ball. I think the best advice I can give for avoiding uneccessary purchases would definitely have to be avoid the MALL! You wouldn't believe how easy it is to forget about clothes and other items when your not in the vicinity and by vicinty I mean distance and the effort to get there. I personally am not inclined to venture out of my warm bed if it's snowing. If you can keep yourself a bus ride from the mall it may prevent your uneccesary spending and your bank account will thank you later when you need a new phone after the unfortunate swimming incident. Maybe that's not a good example as it's -9 outside. Another discussion for another day. Meg |
MeganMulti-media journalist with an unstoppable curiosity. Archives
May 2017
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