I’m going to be a freshman in the fall at a college 4 hours away. I found a roommate online a month ago that had similar interests as me and that happens to live only 20 minutes away from where I live. She texted me and said that we should meet sometime. We ended up deciding to meet at Panera Bread. We also decided that we would each bring a friend. I thought us bringing a friend would make it less awkward, but now I just realized that I’m going to have to meet 2 new people. I’m an extremely shy and awkward person and I don’t want my roommate to get the wrong first impression. Tips on what to talk about or to make this meeting tomorrow less awkward? I’m so nervous and stressed out about it!
Medapop-
Meeting someone new can be a bit awkward, but here’s a tip - People like to talk about themselves. The nice thing about getting to know a stranger is that you have every reason to ask lots of questions, and that tends to get the conversation going. In most cases the conversation will continue on to another topic naturally or the other person will ask you the same question back.
Some possible question:
What was your high school like?
Do you know what you want to major in?
Do you know anyone who’ll be a new freshman with us?
Did you visit [our] college before you applied?
Do you have any brothers or sisters?
What kind of music do you like?
When do you like to study?
Have you looked at the class Facebook page? What did you think of it?
Are you planning to get involved in the [whatever her interests are] club?
How do you think we should set up our room? [I have a (coffee maker, printer, microwave, rug, etc.) I can bring]
Relax, be yourself, compliment her on something she is wearing and ask her where she got it, ask her which classes she is going to try to register for. Ask her how her h.s. graduation was, if she has had it already.
You seem kind of anxious in a lot of your threads. Take a deep breath. Try to skow some self-confidence by talking about something that you are good at.
It’s only awkward if you make it awkward or they make it awkward. Establish dominance and show her you don’t take crap from anyone but at the same try to seem friendly and engaging.
It’s in the interest of both of you to get along and not go through a process of choosing another room mate.