I've had problems with more than one roommate, but the strangest was the one that I had last year. She and her boyfriend were always together and he wouldn't leave our room until 1 or 2am, usually hours after I had already gone to bed. They would fight all the time, but it seemed like their fighting happened while I was sleeping most of the time. She was also very messy. I'm not very organized, but my mess is made up of books & paper, hers was trash & dirty clothes. I lived on the side of the room that was opposite the door & everyday I would have to walk through all her stuff. The thing that bothered me the most, though, was her stuffed animals. I have stuffed animals, too, but I don't do anything with them, they just sit on my shelf. She, however, would bring her stuffed animals everywhere & talk to them. Yes, talk to them. Her boyfriend did it, too. The stuffed animals were their "children." They'd talk to the "kids" & then they would both talk in baby voices & pretend that the stuffed animals were talking back. They would also have the kids scream & cry & then they would punish them. Whenever I told people who my roommate was, they would ask "Is she the one that carries stuffed animals around?"

Many people asked me why I didn't move out. I didn't want to go through the hassle. I did have a talk with her and our RA about all the things that bothered me. She said that she would try to keep her side of the room clean, but she got really angry when I told her that the whole stuffed animal thing was annoying & kind of freaked me out. She told me that it was part of who she is & that she can't stop doing it. Then, she said that I shouldn't be annoyed by it because she & her boyfriend are making cartoon voices & I like to watch cartoons. When I said that I don't watch cartoons when I'm doing homework or sleeping, she glared at me & said that all my knick knacks & things annoy her. I'm not sure how my stuff could have annoyed her, she was always sitting at her desk with her back towards my side of the room. I was extremely happy when the end of the year came around.

Submitted by Anonymous