Freshers are about to join the university journey and everyone has to find a place to stay. Whether you choose a hall of residence or a hostel, you will meet colleagues who will give you a memorable or dreadful experience. 

Memory Ahumuza, a hotel receptionist and former student of social sciences at Makerere University shares her experience;

My roommate died

I had the scariest experience during my first year when my roommate died. Even if she did not die in our room, I was too terrified to remain there.

I had to shift to another room which had three occupants but my woes were far from over because my stay with them was terrible.

I would buy food, prepare it and they eat it but refuse to wash the dishes. It did not matter to them that I had bought that food and cooked it as well.

I decided to ignore them and wash the dishes but with time, I got tired and shifted to another room. That time round, I chose to stay with my Old Girl (OG) hoping to get along well since we knew each other but I was wrong because she turned out to be complicated. She blocked my friends from visiting especially the male ones but I reached a time and got used to her.

On how to handle a toxic roommate (s), Dickson Tumuramye, a parenting counsellor advises to speak up because your roommate might not know that her actions are irritating you. However, speak politely and tell them when something bothers you. Avoiding to talk about it will upset you more.

But also, make sure you listen to them, understand their perspective and come to a compromise.