How to Live With a Type A Roommate

By: Christine LaFrancesca, Staff Writer

Moving in with new roommates can be terrifying. Not to mention that tip-toeing around different personalities can be both an exhausting and anxiety ridden situation. What happens if you don’t get along?

Sometimes personality types clash but, there are ways around screaming it out in the living room so the entire third floor can hear or leaving passive-aggressive notes around the apartment for your roommates to stumble across.

Personally, I have only ever loathed one kind of roommate; the extremely driven, anxiety-prone, go-getters that exist among us, the Type A roommate. Being Type B to the extreme, the compulsive and intense mannerisms that accompany someone who is Type A are usually too irksome for me to bear, yet alone live with.

Now, being Type B doesn’t mean I’m a vile, inconsiderate slob who leaves leftover Pizan’s laying around to become a home for thousands of pantry pests but, cleaning is not a priority of mine.

In my attempt to bridge the gap between these polar-opposite personality types, I have compiled a few glimmers of advice from my own hellish experience.

  1. Try to Contain your Mess to Your Own Room

While my ex-roommate consistently squawked about my inability to keep my possessions contained to my own room, I knew she was right. Just because I didn’t see a problem with leaving my laptop, printer, old bowl of Lucky Charms, hair tie, towel and countless papers sprawled across the kitchen table, doesn’t mean that others will be as accepting of my carelessness. Try to contain your messes to your own personal space. For those of you who share a room, keep your things on your side of the living space and do your best to collect whatever has spilled over on to your roommate’s domain.

 

  1. Be Direct and Respect Their Time

If you are so inclined to attempt a friendship with your Type A roommate, try your best to be prompt. Type A’s value their time, and your lateness will send the message that you don’t value your roommates commitments. Also, be direct. If there is ever a problem or situation between the two of you, tell them immediately. Type A’s tend to process information quickly so, be short and to the point when addressing concerns. Sending a lengthy text or writing a wordy note will only further delay your possible compromise.

 

  1. Don’t Take it Personally

If you ever see (or hear) your roommate slamming doors in a fit of passive-aggressive anxiety, do not take it to heart. The bliss of being Type B is that we don’t experience stress the same way as our fellow Type A’s might. That being said, if you see that your roommate is having an exceptionally hard time calming down after a stressful situation, try to sympathize. He/She does not feel the same as you do after difficult circumstances and may just need someone to listen to them.

DearDoc is a judgmental-free space. All questions and replies will remain anonymous. I am open to taking questions of all kinds, shapes and sizes. Please e-mail me at deardoctowerlight@gmail.com.

 

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