<p>Well I'm going to be a freshman and I received my random roommate assignment about two weeks ago. Luckily, I was able to find him on facebook and immediately friend requested him. In the beginning, we talked about the usual (Where are you from, favorite sports, summer plans, tv shows, etc), and exchanged phone numbers to text, but at this point, I feel like we really don't have much in common (he's really into rock/music in general, while I'm not). Before all this happened, I actually had a roommate picked out who had a lot of things in common, and our daily convos would flow naturally. He ended up ditching me for someone else last minute, which left me with no other option but to go random. I don't move in until August, but I don't want to go the entire summer without talking to him. How can I continue to keep in touch with him without it being awkward? We live around 2 hours from eachother, so do you guys think that we'd be close enough to meet up? (I live outside NYC and he lives in Scranton).</p>
<p>Just coordinate whose bringing what and don’t worry about it. Not everyone is best friends with their roommate.</p>
<p>^ Seconded. You’re over-analyzing and trying too hard. It’s not mandatory to be friends with your roommate, just to tolerate him. Don’t force it. Just let the social process happen naturally.</p>
<p>From what I hear, it doesn’t sound like most people are best friends with their roommate; it just doesn’t happen. I hope I get a roommate I can tolerate!</p>
<p>If you two are meant to become close friends, you’ll find out when you move in together (you don’t have to share someone’s interests to be friends with him or her). If not, you can still have an amicable, drama-free relationship and coexist peacefully while moving in completely different social circles. You don’t have to be BFFs, and you certainly don’t have to talk every day for two months before you’ve even met. Be friendly and respond to his messages in a timely manner. Maybe tell him about your sleep patterns/housekeeping habits and ask him about his so that you both know what to expect. Anything beyond that seems unnecessary at this point, especially if you don’t really have much to say to each other.</p>
<p>Just have minimal expectations about a roommate ( he is clean ,doesn’t use your stuff ,etc. ) and you won’t be disappointed .Many colleges seem to want freshmen to experience someone very different that themselves ! You will meet so many people those first few days, it will all fall in place .</p>
<p>You don’t have to be best friends with your roommate. After you move in with them, you’ll likely realize that you have more in common with each other than you thought (food goes a long way in making friends). Either way, as long as they’re not a total *******, you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>I have to agree that you have to keep an open mind and not to expect too much. You might become friends but maybe not. In the meantime, coordinate who brings what. When I was “meeting” my roommate through email and facebook, we just listed random interests until we found stuff in common.</p>
<p>You don’t have to have completely identical interests in order to get along. My roommate and I had some very different common interests, but we were still friends. Not best friends, but still friends.</p>
<p>I have some best friends with whom I only share a few interests. However we support each others’ interests, so maybe that’s a factor. I don’t think you need many common interests to be close as long as you’re invested in the relationship.</p>