Hostel Series: What your roommate ISN'T

So I've had some experience living in hostels during my time as a student, and I have stayed in both shared rooms, and single rooms.

For those out there who haven't had the experience of doing so yet, Hostel Series will give you a brief glance of what it is like.

Why would you want to stay in hostel? For a variety of reasons mainly.
Firstly, you might choose to do so because your real home is too far from your school, and you don't want to spend precious moments stuck in transport when you could be rested and studying. Either.
Or you might be staying in hostel to make new friends, or learn to live independently, or learn some life skills. These are all valid reasons!

But more often than not, people start forgetting why they are living in hostel in the first place and that might be troublesome for yourself...

If you're someone who like privacy, opt for a single room. If you want to force yourself to learn to live independently, opt for a single room.

You see, having a roommate often makes you dependent on them.
You'll have twice the amount of resources and equipment, twice the manpower, stuff like that.

Living alone, you have to make sure things are in order for yourself. You train yourself to wake up on time so as not to miss any lessons in school. You train to keep your room neat if you don't want to live in a garbage dump. You train yourself to buy your own groceries, get your own appliances, get your own necessities. Because you know that if you don't do so for yourself, you won't get it done, and you don't get the things you want. Your life, is in your own hands.

That being said, living in a shared room is not easy for me to get used to after that. Being a seasoned hostel resident, I know what I need for living in the dorms. I bring them all, and I settle down nicely. Because of that, I have to share whatever I have with my roommate if they don't have a certain item...

I didn't have to do that in the past >.<

So for the first Hostel Series, I'm going to talk about what your roommate isn't =P

1. Your roommate isn't your maid/housekeeper.
The room is shared by both of you. It isn't the sole responsibility of one of you to keep it clean. If you're a messy person and your roommate is a clean freak, don't expect them and don't ask them to clean your area for you. If they only wish to clean their own side of the room, that is their right. You clean up by yourself.

If you see dust somewhere and one day it magically disappears, you have to realize that dirt doesn't go away by themselves. Someone, aka your roommate, cleaned it. It's not their job and they only did so out of their own will. So be thankful, and don't expect more.

The trash bin inside the room, if it is shared, should be cleared by yourselves. If one day the trash bin empties itself, please, once again, note that someone (other than you) cleared it. With regards to trash, if you see that the bin is full, please just clear it. Don't try to squeeze more things in just to avoid doing so, and then state 'I could still stuff things in it' as an excuse. (I've actually heard this before. True story)

Everybody drops hair. Just because you don't comb your hair in the room, doesn't mean you don't have to sweep the hair up. I've also heard this excuse being used before.

If you have a washroom in the room, please also note that you both have to clean it. If you can't clean it, then keep it clean. If you mess up the sink, you clean it. And the sink trap in the shower, it's going to be filled with hair. Pick that up if you see it, don't push it around waiting for it to miraculously vanish. I told you, things don't get cleaned by themselves. Elves and pixies aren't real, they don't appear to clean things for you. If you haven't been doing your chores and things are still clean, get this: YOU WERE LAZY AND YOUR ROOMMATE DID IT.

You live in a hostel to learn independent living, so learn it.

2. Your roommate isn't your personal assistant.
Your roommate is still human and has their own life to run and keep on schedule. You can ask questions and confirm things, but incessant asking is not a good thing to do. Do not ask your roommate to remember your schedule for you, that is your own responsibility.

If you have to wake up at a certain time, get an alarm clock. It isn't enjoyable if your roommate has to wake up early just to get you out of bed.
If you are outside, please make sure you have your own key with you. If you have your own key, use it. Even if your roommate is in, it isn't their job to open the door for you (like a boss), if you brought your own key out. This just goes to show how lazy you are, so please learn.
If you have a question, please just try Google first before asking your roommate.

Respect your roommate's decision. Don't pester them into doing things for you, because it isn't their duty at all. You should only request for help when you REALLY need help. Sharing a room also means respecting each other's personal space.

3. Your roommate isn't equipment rental.
It's alright to borrow an item or two from your roommate when you need it. But just so you know, borrowing involves also the act of returning. You borrow, you return it in its original condition.

If you don't have something, you are only to borrow it for the time being. This involves you going out to get the item you need so that you can return the item to your roommate. This goes without saying. If your roommate has something, even if it's spare, it's theirs and they need it even if they don't use it.

You, learn to go get your own items. Your roommate is not a convenience store.

Even though you are essentially sharing your lives with each other, and you're supposed to help each other out... I still feel that it is important for both parties to have their own personal space. There should be a balance between what you receive and what you give.

That being said, you really should learn to live as independently as possible, and try not to ask for too many favours from your roommate. I always respond positively, more or less, because if there is unpleasantness between my roommate and I, life is gonna be shit.
So as much as possible, I try to help. It does annoy me at times because I have to weigh my own emotions against the prospect of living in harmony. More often that not, I cannot express my frustrations.

I write this post in hopes of letting people know what entails in hostel living, because I'm sure there are others who feel the same way as I do.

Till next time (: