Tolerance can make you a successful millionaire, for it is central to success. Tolerance is the essence of dealing with common problems. It is crucial in the workplace and it is the basis of individuals' everyday lives. I personally have a very strange roommate and face the struggle of tolerance everyday. He's messy and leaves his stuff and dishes everywhere, he's the biggest nerd I've ever met, he plays the keyboard and sings simultaneously every day (which is just odd), he sings so loud in the shower that it wakes me up in the morning even though he's on the compete other side of the apartment, and I'm pretty sure he's gay. He has told me and my other fellow roommates that when he was in high school he did not know whether he was gay or straight and had many homosexual thoughts. He's a really nice guy don't get me wrong, but he is very weird. Whenever we have people over, all he can talk about is these "Skyflakes" which is some type of cracker that isn't salted, and he just raves about them, exclaiming how, "They go great with jam and jelly". What an odd was to start a conversation. While the other two roommates and I buy real food for the apartment, this is all he buys. It's as if he doesn't know how to live on his own. He was obviously very protected growing up and now he doesn't have mommy to buy him real food and follow him around picking up his messes.
Individuals may struggle to tolerate their roommates based upon many common issues. Issues such as drug and alcohol use, cleanliness, conflicting values, morals, and habits depending upon the way in which the individual was raised, and many others that may include noise, sleeping times, partying, homosexuality, pets, invasion of privacy, etc. Since tolerance is vital to overcoming obstacles in everyday life, learning to deal with something as simple as a "strange" roommate is key to learning the basic skills of tolerance; for with tolerance comes concentration and the ability to focus on what is at task, whether that task be studying for a class, making an important counter-argument at a press conference, or simply attempting to fall asleep. Learning to deal with a "strange" roommate may teach you how crucial tolerance is in everyday life trough it's endless number of applications.
I started asking around on our floor and it seems as if almost every room has at least one person that is considered to be a problem. However, “compromising is important whenever people are living together. Living together involves blending multiple lives and lifestyles. You and your roommates may be very similar or very different” (http://education-portal.com); and while this isn't a huge pissue, there is a lot of kids that have a real problem with their roommates. For instance, my friend Alaina Woolsey has roommates that have "kegger" parties almost every night and keep her up until about three in the morning. She actually just transferred out of her apartment into my building at the Towers, which got me thinking; how many room transfers are related to roommate issues? To research this I contacted the Housing and Residence Life here at UCF. They have reported that in order to get a room transfer, one must first speak with a residence life staff member and if the transfer is related to a roommate issue, they will conduct a meeting with the proper authorities in order to attempt to resolve the issue before issuing a transfer. My friend Matt Young has reported to me a similar problem, for he lives in Lake Claire and has to share a room with someone. He tells me his roommate is a huge "pot-head" who is always smoking in the room and acting like an idiot when he gets high. Poor Matt requested for a transfer, but didn't get it. He didn't want to rat the kid out and get him in trouble with the campus police, he just didn't want to have to live and sleep ten feet away from him. Accordingly, he complained saying that they were just having general issues and arguing a lot about disagreements. They said that arguments weren't enough to get a transfer and that he was stuck to deal with it. This also got me questioning how many room transfers are related to drug and alcohol usage...I interviewed one of the Resident Assistant’s (R.A.’s) in my building. According to Jeffrey, drug and alcohol use is never an issue because in most living areas, drugs and alcohol are not allowed, nor tolerated. There have been no reported cases or any sort of statistics that he has heard of.
I also began asking around in my classes to the students to see if they liked their roommates, how things were working out, etc. I found that the major problem that people had with their roommates wasn't drug and alcohol abuse, but was cleanliness. Some people (like Gabe) love to leave dishes in the sink and always say, "Oh I'll get it later." while the large majority of the student population had conflicting values and likes to keep their area tidy. This generally resulted in some sort of conflict. However, according to Jeffrey of Tower 1 at UCF, the have been no statistics describing this sort of discrepancy between fellow roommates.
Jeffrey quoted that there have been no statistics or history with either of these problems; therefore they cannot be a common issue among roommates. While they may still occur, they are never reported, fearing they may attract the attention of the campus police and would have a larger problem than simply struggling to deal with another human being. Drug and alcohol abuse in apartments they do not allow is may be a serious offense.
I then called my mom to ask if she had any roommate issues when she was in college. She told me, "Of course I did, but I learned to deal with it." which made me assume that with experience, dealing with people you don't get along with becomes easier. Accordingly, younger age groups would have the most problems with their roommates, as they have had the least experience dealing with this issue. Yet, five minutes later, she was telling me how there's a new receptionist at her work that she can't stand. This told me that as people age, they learn how to deal with certain individuals, but when a new problematic individual appears, they face an entire new problem. This showed me that tolerance is a universal issue among all age groups that does not have one single solution to it, for tolerating different individuals requires different techniques. To contradict however, Jeffrey stated that older individuals are more tolerant because they are more used to living independently on their own. I therefore agreed to disagree and decided to stay “on the fence”, for I can find ties to both sides of the argument.
I have thus come to the realization that there are many roommate problems that exist within almost every situation. However, just because there are minor issues, there are not necessarily major problems. Everybody is different, and there is no central problem that exists among roommates other than individuals struggling to learn the basic skills of tolerance. I believe that older individuals are better equipped with these skills because they have been around the independent living environment longer and have more experience with simplifying and solving problems. Through my research, I have found that roommate issues are rarely related to drug and alcohol use, for no cases within the Orlando area have been reported. It may have been the problem, but a different excuse was admitted, such as in Matt Young’s case. Living with everyday annoyances coming from roommates may quickly teach tolerance as one may quickly learn how to deal with everyday annoyances. College students that live in an apartment also live within a democracy; hopefully everybody fulfills his or her commitment.
Bibliography
Doyle, Jeffrey. Personal Interview by Austin Thomas. 19 Oct
2009.
Woolsey, Alaina. Personal Interview by Austin Thomas. 01 Oct
2009.
Young, Matthew. Personal Interview by Austin Thomas. 09 Oct
2009.
Housing and Residence. Orlando, FL: 1997-2009 University of Central Florida, 2008.
"Tips for Living with a College Roommate." Education-Portal.com (2007): n. pag. Web.
19 Oct 2009.
College_Roommate.html>.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Commentary Draft
Tolerance can make you a successful millionaire. It is central to success; it is the essence of dealing with common problems; it is crucial in the workplace; and it is the basis of individuals' everyday lives. One common phenomenon that I have observed at UCF (the University of Central Florida) is individuals struggling to deal with "strange" roommates. Individuals may struggle to tolerate their roommates based upon many common issues. Issues such as drug and alcohol use, cleanliness, conflicting values, morals, and habits depending upon the way in which the individual was raised, and many others that may include noise, sleeping times, partying, homosexuality, pets, invasion of privacy, etc. Since tolerance is vital to overcoming obstacles in everyday life, learning to deal with something as simple as a "strange" roommate is key to learning the basic skills of tolerance; for with tolerance comes concentration and the ability to focus on what is at task, whether that task be studying for a class, making an important counter-argument at a press conference, or simply attempting to fall asleep. Learning to deal with a "strange" roommate may teach you how crucial tolerance is in everyday life trough it's endless number of applications.
I, personally have a very strange roommate. He's messy and leaves his stuff and dishes everywhere, he's the biggest nerd I've ever met, he plays the keyboard and sings simultaneously every day (which is just odd), he sings so loud in the shower that it wakes me up in the morning even though he's on the compete other side of the apartment, and I'm pretty sure he's gay. He has told me and my other fellow roommates that when he was in high school he did not know whether he was gay or straight and had many homosexual thoughts. He's a really nice guy don't get me wrong, but he is very weird. Whenever we have people over, all he can talk about is these "Skyflakes" which is some type of cracker that isn't salted, and he just raves about them, exclaiming how, "They go great with jam and jelly". What an odd was to start a conversation. While the other two roommates and I buy real food for the apartment, this is all he buys. It's as if he doesn't know how to live on his own. He was obviously very protected growing up and now he doesn't have mommy to buy him real food and follow him around picking up his messes.
I started asking around on our floor and it seems as if almost every room has at least one person that is considered to be a problem. However, “compromising is important whenever people are living together. Living together involves blending multiple lives and lifestyles. You and your roommates may be very similar or very different” (http://education-portal.com). While this isn't a huge problem, there's a lot of kids that have a real problem with their roommates. For instance, my friend Alaina Woolsey has roommates that have "kegger" parties almost every night and keep her up until about three in the morning. She actually just transferred out of her apartment into my building at the Towers, which got me thinking; how many room transfers are related to roommate issues? To research this I contacted the Housing and Residence Life here at UCF. They have reported that in order to get a room transfer, one must first speak with a residence life staff member and if the transfer is related to a roommate issue, they will conduct a meeting with the proper authorities in order to attempt to resolve the issue before issuing a transfer. My friend Matt Young has reported to me a similar problem. He lives in Lake Claire and has to share a room with someone. He tells me his roommate is a huge "pot-head" who is always smoking in the room and acting like an idiot when he gets high. Poor Matt requested for a transfer, but didn't get it. He didn't want to rat the kid out and get him in trouble with the campus police, he just didn't want to have to live and sleep ten feet away from him. So he complained saying that they were just having general issues and arguing a lot about disagreements. They said that arguments weren't enough to get a transfer and that he was stuck to deal with it. This also got me questioning how many room transfers are related to drug and alcohol usage...I interviewed one of the Resident Assistant’s (R.A.’s) in my building. According to Jeffrey, drug and alcohol use is never an issue because in most living areas, drugs and alcohol are not allowed, nor tolerated. There have been no reported cases or any sort of statistics that he has heard of.
I also began asking around in my classes to the students to see if they liked their roommates, how things were working out, etc. I found that the major problem that people had with their roommates wasn't drug and alcohol abuse, but was cleanliness. Some people (like Gabe) love to leave dishes in the sink and always say, "Oh I'll get it later." while the large majority of the student population had conflicting values and likes to keep their area tidy. This generally resulted in some sort of conflict. However, according to Jeffrey of Tower 1 at UCF, the have been no statistics describing this sort of discrepancy between fellow roommates.
To continue my research, I called my mom to ask if she had any roommate issues when she was in college. She told me, "Of course I did, but I learned to deal with it." which made me assume that with experience, dealing with people you don't get along with becomes easier. Accordingly, younger age groups would have the most problems with their roommates, as they have had the least experience dealing with this issue. Yet, five minutes later, she was telling me how there's a new receptionist at her work that she can't stand. This told me that as people age, they learn how to deal with certain individuals, but when a new problematic individual appears, they face an entire new problem. This showed me that tolerance is a universal issue among all age groups that does not have one single solution to it, for tolerating different individuals requires different techniques. To contradict however, Jeffrey stated that older individuals are more tolerant because they are more used to living independently on their own. I therefore agreed to disagree and decided to stay “on the fence”, for I can find ties to both sides of the argument.
To conclude, I have come to the realization that there are many roommate problems that exist within almost every situation. However, just because there are problems, there are not necessarily major issues. Everybody is different and there is no central problem rather than individuals struggling to learn the basic skills of tolerance. I believe that older individuals are better equipped with these skills because they have been around the independent living environment longer and have more experience with simplifying and solving problems. Through my research I have found that roommate issues are rarely related to drug and alcohol use, for no cases within the Orlando area have been reported. It may have been the problem, but a different excuse was admitted, such as in Matt Young’s case. Most kids have the same attitude about it, drugs are bad and they should not be brought into a home. Living with everyday annoyances coming from roommates quickly teaches tolerance, for college students live within a democracy. Hopefully everybody fulfills their commitment.
Bibliography
Doyle, Jeffrey. Personal Interview by Austin Thomas. 19 Oct
2009.
Housing and Residence. Orlando, FL: 1997-2009 University of Central Florida, 2008.
"Tips for Living with a College Roommate." Education-Portal.com (2007): n. pag. Web.
19 Oct 2009.
Castleberry
I, personally have a very strange roommate. He's messy and leaves his stuff and dishes everywhere, he's the biggest nerd I've ever met, he plays the keyboard and sings simultaneously every day (which is just odd), he sings so loud in the shower that it wakes me up in the morning even though he's on the compete other side of the apartment, and I'm pretty sure he's gay. He has told me and my other fellow roommates that when he was in high school he did not know whether he was gay or straight and had many homosexual thoughts. He's a really nice guy don't get me wrong, but he is very weird. Whenever we have people over, all he can talk about is these "Skyflakes" which is some type of cracker that isn't salted, and he just raves about them, exclaiming how, "They go great with jam and jelly". What an odd was to start a conversation. While the other two roommates and I buy real food for the apartment, this is all he buys. It's as if he doesn't know how to live on his own. He was obviously very protected growing up and now he doesn't have mommy to buy him real food and follow him around picking up his messes.
I started asking around on our floor and it seems as if almost every room has at least one person that is considered to be a problem. However, “compromising is important whenever people are living together. Living together involves blending multiple lives and lifestyles. You and your roommates may be very similar or very different” (http://education-portal.com). While this isn't a huge problem, there's a lot of kids that have a real problem with their roommates. For instance, my friend Alaina Woolsey has roommates that have "kegger" parties almost every night and keep her up until about three in the morning. She actually just transferred out of her apartment into my building at the Towers, which got me thinking; how many room transfers are related to roommate issues? To research this I contacted the Housing and Residence Life here at UCF. They have reported that in order to get a room transfer, one must first speak with a residence life staff member and if the transfer is related to a roommate issue, they will conduct a meeting with the proper authorities in order to attempt to resolve the issue before issuing a transfer. My friend Matt Young has reported to me a similar problem. He lives in Lake Claire and has to share a room with someone. He tells me his roommate is a huge "pot-head" who is always smoking in the room and acting like an idiot when he gets high. Poor Matt requested for a transfer, but didn't get it. He didn't want to rat the kid out and get him in trouble with the campus police, he just didn't want to have to live and sleep ten feet away from him. So he complained saying that they were just having general issues and arguing a lot about disagreements. They said that arguments weren't enough to get a transfer and that he was stuck to deal with it. This also got me questioning how many room transfers are related to drug and alcohol usage...I interviewed one of the Resident Assistant’s (R.A.’s) in my building. According to Jeffrey, drug and alcohol use is never an issue because in most living areas, drugs and alcohol are not allowed, nor tolerated. There have been no reported cases or any sort of statistics that he has heard of.
I also began asking around in my classes to the students to see if they liked their roommates, how things were working out, etc. I found that the major problem that people had with their roommates wasn't drug and alcohol abuse, but was cleanliness. Some people (like Gabe) love to leave dishes in the sink and always say, "Oh I'll get it later." while the large majority of the student population had conflicting values and likes to keep their area tidy. This generally resulted in some sort of conflict. However, according to Jeffrey of Tower 1 at UCF, the have been no statistics describing this sort of discrepancy between fellow roommates.
To continue my research, I called my mom to ask if she had any roommate issues when she was in college. She told me, "Of course I did, but I learned to deal with it." which made me assume that with experience, dealing with people you don't get along with becomes easier. Accordingly, younger age groups would have the most problems with their roommates, as they have had the least experience dealing with this issue. Yet, five minutes later, she was telling me how there's a new receptionist at her work that she can't stand. This told me that as people age, they learn how to deal with certain individuals, but when a new problematic individual appears, they face an entire new problem. This showed me that tolerance is a universal issue among all age groups that does not have one single solution to it, for tolerating different individuals requires different techniques. To contradict however, Jeffrey stated that older individuals are more tolerant because they are more used to living independently on their own. I therefore agreed to disagree and decided to stay “on the fence”, for I can find ties to both sides of the argument.
To conclude, I have come to the realization that there are many roommate problems that exist within almost every situation. However, just because there are problems, there are not necessarily major issues. Everybody is different and there is no central problem rather than individuals struggling to learn the basic skills of tolerance. I believe that older individuals are better equipped with these skills because they have been around the independent living environment longer and have more experience with simplifying and solving problems. Through my research I have found that roommate issues are rarely related to drug and alcohol use, for no cases within the Orlando area have been reported. It may have been the problem, but a different excuse was admitted, such as in Matt Young’s case. Most kids have the same attitude about it, drugs are bad and they should not be brought into a home. Living with everyday annoyances coming from roommates quickly teaches tolerance, for college students live within a democracy. Hopefully everybody fulfills their commitment.
Bibliography
Doyle, Jeffrey. Personal Interview by Austin Thomas. 19 Oct
2009.
Housing and Residence. Orlando, FL: 1997-2009 University of Central Florida, 2008.
"Tips for Living with a College Roommate." Education-Portal.com (2007): n. pag. Web.
19 Oct 2009.
Castleberry
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Commentary Thesis Paragraph (Introduction)
Tolerance can make you a successful millionaire. Tolerance is central to success; tolerance is the essence of dealing with common problems; tolerance is crucial in the workplace; and tolerance is the basis of individuals' everyday lives. One common phenomenon that I have observed at UCF (the University of Central Florida) is individuals struggling to tolerate "strange" roommates. Individuals may struggle to tolerate their roommates based upon many common issues. Issues such as drug and alcohol use, cleanliness, conflicting values, morals, and habits depending upon the way in which the individual was raised, and many others that may include noise, sleeping times, partying, homosexuality, pets, invasion of privacy, etc. Since tolerance is vital to overcoming obstacles in everyday life, learning to deal with something as simple as a "strange" roommate is key to learning the basic skills of tolerance; for with tolerance comes concentration and the ability ti focus on what is at task, whether that task be studying for a class, making an important counter-argument at a press conference, or simply attempting to fall asleep. Learning to deal with a "strange" roommate may teach you how crucial tolerance is in everyday life trough it's endless number of applications.
Commentary Outline
1. To craft my commentary, I will start by introducing my thesis, that tolerance is the basis of dealing with "strange" roommates.
2. I will then go on to discuss roommates (relating to the basis of tolerance) and ask if there is a central issue among roommate problems and elaborate on many common issues that have been recorded, such as:
"Drug and Alcohol Use (Including Tobacco Products)" - Arguments between users and non-users.
"Cleanliness" - Conflicting morals, values, and habits depending upon how the individual was raised. Does having siblings have an effect on tolerance to cleanliness issues?
"Other Issues" - Noise levels, partying, sleeping hours, homosexuality, invasion of privacy, pets, etc.
3. I will then discuss room transfers and introduce statistics concerning how many are related to tolerating roommate issues.
4. Then, I will argue whether or not older individuals are beter at tolerating others than younger individuals are. I will comment that on one side, older individuals have more experience dealing with tolerance; but on the other side, tolerance skills are unique depending upon the individual that you are attempting to tolerate. Therefore, older individuals would have no significant advantage since each circumstance is greatly diverse.
5. I will conclude by making ties back to tolerance and stressing the importance of tolerance skills within the workplace and everyday life. I will also comment that individuals learn the majority of these skills while attending a college or university and dealing with issues such as dealing with "strange" roommates.
*I plan to embed in my commentary many various facts, statistics, and quotes that I will gain from my research as well as from my interview with the R.A.'s (Resident Assistants) in my apartment building.
...and obviously I will include my works cited page as well.
*avoid using words such as "is, was, were, being, are, etc."
2. I will then go on to discuss roommates (relating to the basis of tolerance) and ask if there is a central issue among roommate problems and elaborate on many common issues that have been recorded, such as:
"Drug and Alcohol Use (Including Tobacco Products)" - Arguments between users and non-users.
"Cleanliness" - Conflicting morals, values, and habits depending upon how the individual was raised. Does having siblings have an effect on tolerance to cleanliness issues?
"Other Issues" - Noise levels, partying, sleeping hours, homosexuality, invasion of privacy, pets, etc.
3. I will then discuss room transfers and introduce statistics concerning how many are related to tolerating roommate issues.
4. Then, I will argue whether or not older individuals are beter at tolerating others than younger individuals are. I will comment that on one side, older individuals have more experience dealing with tolerance; but on the other side, tolerance skills are unique depending upon the individual that you are attempting to tolerate. Therefore, older individuals would have no significant advantage since each circumstance is greatly diverse.
5. I will conclude by making ties back to tolerance and stressing the importance of tolerance skills within the workplace and everyday life. I will also comment that individuals learn the majority of these skills while attending a college or university and dealing with issues such as dealing with "strange" roommates.
*I plan to embed in my commentary many various facts, statistics, and quotes that I will gain from my research as well as from my interview with the R.A.'s (Resident Assistants) in my apartment building.
...and obviously I will include my works cited page as well.
*avoid using words such as "is, was, were, being, are, etc."
Revise and Sequenced Questions
Subject - Dealing with strange roommates.
1) How many students that live either on or off-campus have a problem with one of their fellow roommates?
2) Is there a common issue among these problems? A bigger picture than minor annoyances here and there?
3) How often is the issue related to drug and alcohol use (including tobacco products)? Is the argument always between a user and a non-user?
4)Do roommate issues occur more often within a certain age group? Are younger individuals less tolerant than older ones?
5) How many room transfers are related to a roommate issue?
Connecting the dots draws the big picture: Tolerance is the basis of roommate issues, and is one of the most important things that you may learn within a college atmosphere. As you age, your tolerance for others increases.
1) How many students that live either on or off-campus have a problem with one of their fellow roommates?
2) Is there a common issue among these problems? A bigger picture than minor annoyances here and there?
3) How often is the issue related to drug and alcohol use (including tobacco products)? Is the argument always between a user and a non-user?
4)Do roommate issues occur more often within a certain age group? Are younger individuals less tolerant than older ones?
5) How many room transfers are related to a roommate issue?
Connecting the dots draws the big picture: Tolerance is the basis of roommate issues, and is one of the most important things that you may learn within a college atmosphere. As you age, your tolerance for others increases.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Commentary Letter
Dear, Austin Frizzell,
How are things back in Bradenton? I haven't been back in a while; have I missed out on anything good? Orlando is awesome; I go out almost 5 nights a week with Jimmy, Ryan, Matt, and Kayla. It's so fun...everything except for my calc 2 class, which is absolute hell.
Actually, I do have one more problem; I have the strangest roommate. He's messy and leaves his stuff and dishes everywhere, he's the biggest nerd I've ever met, he plays the keyboard and sings simultaneously every day (which is just odd), he sings so loud in the shower that it wakes me up in the morning even though he's on the compete other side of the apartment, and I'm pretty he's gay. He's a really nice guy don't get me wrong, but he is very weird. Whenever we have people over, all he can talk about is these "Skyflakes" which is some type of cracker that isn't salted, and he just raves about them, exclaiming how, "They go great with jam and jelly". What a weird was to start a conversation. While the other two roommates and I buy real food for the apartment, this is all he buys. It's as if he doesn't know how to live on his own. He was obviously very protected growing up and now he doesn't have mommy to buy him real food and follow him around picking up his messes.
I started asking around on our floor and it seems as if almost every room has at least one person that is considered to be a problem. While this isn't a huge problem, there's a lot of kids that have a real problem with their roommates. For instance, Alaina has roommates that have "kegger" parties almost every night and keep her up until about three in the morning. She actually just transferred out of her apartment into my building at the Towers, which got me thinking; How many room transfers are related to roommate issues? Matt has a similar problem. He lives in Lake Claire and has to share a room with someone. He tells me his roommate is a huge "pot-head" who is always smoking in the room and acting like an idiot when he gets high. Poor Matt requested for a transfer, but didn't get it. He didn't want to rat the kid out and get him in trouble with the campus police, he just didn't want to have to live and sleep ten feet away from him. So he complained saying that they were just having general issues and arguing a lot about disagreements. They said that arguments weren't enough to get a transfer and that he was stuck to deal with it. This also got me questioning how many room transfers are related to drug and alcohol usage...
I began asking around in my classes to the students to see if they liked their roommates, how things were working out, etc. I found that the major problem that people had with their roommates wasn't drug and alcohol abuse, but was cleanliness. Some people (like Gabe) love to leave dishes in the sink and always say, "Oh I'll get it later." while the large majority of the student population had conflicting values and likes to keep their area tidy. This generally resulted in some sort of conflict.
To continue my research, I called my mom to ask if she had any roommate issues when she was in college. She told me, "Of course I did, but I learned to deal with it." which made me assume that with experience, dealing with people you don't get along with becomes easier. Accordingly, younger age groups would have the most problems with their roommates, as they have had the least experience dealing with this issue. Yet, five minutes later, she was telling me how there's a new receptionist at her work that she can't stand. This told me that as people age, they learn how to deal with certain individuals, but when a new problematic individual appears, they face an entire new problem. This showed me that tolerance is a universal issue among all age groups that does not have one single solution to it, for tolerating different individuals requires different techniques.
Anyway, I don't want to bore you with my problems. I'm exaggerating a lot anyway, because I love college so far and there are plenty roommates that could be a lot worse...I could be stuck with some thief or in Matt's case some "pot-head", so I'm thankful. Hope you're doing well man, keep me up to date with everything and how you're liking MTI.
See you at Thanksgiving buddy, Austin
How are things back in Bradenton? I haven't been back in a while; have I missed out on anything good? Orlando is awesome; I go out almost 5 nights a week with Jimmy, Ryan, Matt, and Kayla. It's so fun...everything except for my calc 2 class, which is absolute hell.
Actually, I do have one more problem; I have the strangest roommate. He's messy and leaves his stuff and dishes everywhere, he's the biggest nerd I've ever met, he plays the keyboard and sings simultaneously every day (which is just odd), he sings so loud in the shower that it wakes me up in the morning even though he's on the compete other side of the apartment, and I'm pretty he's gay. He's a really nice guy don't get me wrong, but he is very weird. Whenever we have people over, all he can talk about is these "Skyflakes" which is some type of cracker that isn't salted, and he just raves about them, exclaiming how, "They go great with jam and jelly". What a weird was to start a conversation. While the other two roommates and I buy real food for the apartment, this is all he buys. It's as if he doesn't know how to live on his own. He was obviously very protected growing up and now he doesn't have mommy to buy him real food and follow him around picking up his messes.
I started asking around on our floor and it seems as if almost every room has at least one person that is considered to be a problem. While this isn't a huge problem, there's a lot of kids that have a real problem with their roommates. For instance, Alaina has roommates that have "kegger" parties almost every night and keep her up until about three in the morning. She actually just transferred out of her apartment into my building at the Towers, which got me thinking; How many room transfers are related to roommate issues? Matt has a similar problem. He lives in Lake Claire and has to share a room with someone. He tells me his roommate is a huge "pot-head" who is always smoking in the room and acting like an idiot when he gets high. Poor Matt requested for a transfer, but didn't get it. He didn't want to rat the kid out and get him in trouble with the campus police, he just didn't want to have to live and sleep ten feet away from him. So he complained saying that they were just having general issues and arguing a lot about disagreements. They said that arguments weren't enough to get a transfer and that he was stuck to deal with it. This also got me questioning how many room transfers are related to drug and alcohol usage...
I began asking around in my classes to the students to see if they liked their roommates, how things were working out, etc. I found that the major problem that people had with their roommates wasn't drug and alcohol abuse, but was cleanliness. Some people (like Gabe) love to leave dishes in the sink and always say, "Oh I'll get it later." while the large majority of the student population had conflicting values and likes to keep their area tidy. This generally resulted in some sort of conflict.
To continue my research, I called my mom to ask if she had any roommate issues when she was in college. She told me, "Of course I did, but I learned to deal with it." which made me assume that with experience, dealing with people you don't get along with becomes easier. Accordingly, younger age groups would have the most problems with their roommates, as they have had the least experience dealing with this issue. Yet, five minutes later, she was telling me how there's a new receptionist at her work that she can't stand. This told me that as people age, they learn how to deal with certain individuals, but when a new problematic individual appears, they face an entire new problem. This showed me that tolerance is a universal issue among all age groups that does not have one single solution to it, for tolerating different individuals requires different techniques.
Anyway, I don't want to bore you with my problems. I'm exaggerating a lot anyway, because I love college so far and there are plenty roommates that could be a lot worse...I could be stuck with some thief or in Matt's case some "pot-head", so I'm thankful. Hope you're doing well man, keep me up to date with everything and how you're liking MTI.
See you at Thanksgiving buddy, Austin
Commentary Questions and Interview Answers
Subject - Dealing with strange roommates.
1) How many individuals have a problem with one of their fellow roommates?
Jade -65%
Austin -80%
2) How many room transfers are related to roommate issues?
Jade -80%
Austin -75%
3) Is there a common issue?
Jade -Cleanliness
Austin -Drugs, cleanliness, or attitude
4) How often is the issue related to drug and alcohol use?
Jade -12%
Austin -40%
5)Do roommate issues occur more often within a certain age group?
Jade -Younger adults, because they have less experience dealing with tolerance.
Austin -Younger adults, because Older age groups would have had past experiences with dealing with roommates and have found ways to deal with it.
Interview Questions:
a) How do you know what you know?
Jade -I don't know anything, I live with my parents.
Austin -Because I have a strange roommate and have made plenty of observations.
b) Who are you to the subject?
Jade -An individual who does not have any roommates.
Austin -An individual who is currently dealing with a strange roommate and has plenty of friends facing the same issue.
c) How is this event connected with others?
Jade -A business aspect; learning to deal with people later in life that you will not get along with, but be forced to work with.
Austin -Moving past life's barriers; things that you must overcome in order to move forward in your life and career.
d) What if things were different?
Jade -There wouldn't be a problem.
Austin -People would miss out on an important lesson on tolerance.
e) Why is this important?
Jade -It teaches the basis of tolerance and its importance in everyday life.
Austin -This is the basis of tolerance. Learning to deal with people that you do not like is probably the greatest thing that having a strange roommate can teach you.
1) How many individuals have a problem with one of their fellow roommates?
Jade -65%
Austin -80%
2) How many room transfers are related to roommate issues?
Jade -80%
Austin -75%
3) Is there a common issue?
Jade -Cleanliness
Austin -Drugs, cleanliness, or attitude
4) How often is the issue related to drug and alcohol use?
Jade -12%
Austin -40%
5)Do roommate issues occur more often within a certain age group?
Jade -Younger adults, because they have less experience dealing with tolerance.
Austin -Younger adults, because Older age groups would have had past experiences with dealing with roommates and have found ways to deal with it.
Interview Questions:
a) How do you know what you know?
Jade -I don't know anything, I live with my parents.
Austin -Because I have a strange roommate and have made plenty of observations.
b) Who are you to the subject?
Jade -An individual who does not have any roommates.
Austin -An individual who is currently dealing with a strange roommate and has plenty of friends facing the same issue.
c) How is this event connected with others?
Jade -A business aspect; learning to deal with people later in life that you will not get along with, but be forced to work with.
Austin -Moving past life's barriers; things that you must overcome in order to move forward in your life and career.
d) What if things were different?
Jade -There wouldn't be a problem.
Austin -People would miss out on an important lesson on tolerance.
e) Why is this important?
Jade -It teaches the basis of tolerance and its importance in everyday life.
Austin -This is the basis of tolerance. Learning to deal with people that you do not like is probably the greatest thing that having a strange roommate can teach you.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Commentary Assignment
Invention Process
1)
1. Dealing with strange roommates
2. Students vs. textbooks and the Campus Bookstore
3. The retro-sunglasses trend
2)
1)
1. Dealing with strange roommates
2. Students vs. textbooks and the Campus Bookstore
3. The retro-sunglasses trend
2)
As I am awakened by a protruding sound through the walls of my 10’X12’ apartment, I struggle to open my eyes. I manage to find my surroundings and stand up out of bed, following the noise to the outskirts of my bedroom. I hear singing, but where is it coming from? Half-awake, I continue to follow the hallway into the kitchen where the noise is heard more vividly. I realize that it is one of my roommates singing in the shower; more like shouting, I would say. I stand in awe, pondering why my roommate would be doing this, does he have no respect for others and not think that his voice may wake up his neighbors? He is the only one awake in the apartment, and with 3 other roommates to consider, why is he making such noise at eight in the morning? I was in shock and dismay.
My mind begins to wander towards questioning his upbringing. He is the messiest out of all of us; his room is a pig-sty, he leaves a trail of dishes behind him, buys crackers and candy rather than meals, is not social with the rest of us, and now he is making so much noise that it wakes me from the other side of the apartment. Does this reflect how he was raised? Did his mother pick up after him, buy and make his food, and not teach him the manners demanded when living with three others. Apparently, because now that she is absent, he does not know how to live.
I begin to wonder how many others are facing my same dilemma. How common are strange and disrespectful roommates? The more I questioned the idea, the more I began to ask my peers. I quickly found that this is a very common predicament. I began to listen to conversations that went on among our apartment building’s floor, and quickly found that I should be thankful that I only have one strange roommate, for there are plenty of rooms on my floor that inhabit 4 individuals that do not get along at all. The volume of the problem began to drown the volume of my roommate’s protruding voice. This was a much larger and shared problem that I had imagined, for almost everyone had to deal with a “weird” roommate.
You are taught many things during your first year of college, and I found that tolerance is one of the most importance.
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