Q: I’m having trouble getting along with my roommate. We used to be such great friends I don’t know what happened. Everything she does bothers me and I can’t stand being in the same room as her. Even the littlest mess of hers bothers me. I just feel like she has changed and I don’t want to live with her anymore. How do I keep myself from punching her in the face?

A: Most people have that one roommate. You know the person you thought you wouldn’t have a single problem with because you were best friends and then out of the blue you hate each other. The fact is, no matter how close you are people always change. When choosing a roommate you have to take into consideration more than the fact that you guys are best friends.

You need to ask yourself is this person going to be respectful of me and my belongings, will they match my cleanliness expectations or will our personalities fit over a long period of time. Obviously your roommate didn’t meet the criteria.

For me, I knew my current roommate would be the only one I wanted to room with because I knew she would respect me, which is the most important quality in a roommate. You’re not going to get along every single second but at the end of the day if you have someone who can respect you and your belongings it makes it easier to live with them.

Now that you know how to pick a better roommate next time, lets return to the issue at hand. If your roommate bothers you that much then you need to get into a different living situation as soon as you can, or as soon as your lease will allow.

But if you can’t leave for a while try and make the best of it because there’s honestly not much you can do. Try and find things or hobbies to keep yourself preoccupied and away from your roommate. Whether that’s studying with classmates in the library, going to the SRWC, or picking up extra shifts at work utilize the excuse so it doesn’t feel like you are just not being home.

You could also actually try and talk to your roommate about how you feel and maybe fix things back to normal. Usually when the tiniest thing upsets you and doesn’t get resolved then everything will start bothering.

Try and keep an open mind about the situation and be cautious of what you do. After all, she does have access to all your personal belongings.

Be classy and respect her no matter. Best of wishes and hopefully you’ll be smarter when choosing your next roomie.