Roommate Confessions: rage, revenge, and real life

October 12, 2009 by Shane Collins 

Cohabitants confess the dirty deeds they’ve committed

As he pulled the comforter to the foot of the bed, to his surprise, a pot, pan, dishes and silverware lay where his head was supposed to rest

Donnie Parker knew his roommate was behind the dirty prank.

Roommates are a necessary accessory for many college students. Whether living in the dorms or in an apartment off campus, students struggle with learning how to share small spaces with others.

“It was tough trying to adapt to the way another person my age lives,” Parker said. “Having a roommate is truly a give-and-take relationship. You have to understand that your way isn’t always the only way.”

Parker said he learned the “give and take” rule the hard way after his roommate put all his dirty dishes in his bed. After going days with the dishes in the sink, Parker’s roommate had enough and had to teach him a lesson.

“It was the first time I ever lived with somebody who wasn’t in my family and he does things his way,” said Jason Hampton, Parker’s roommate.

“It’s hard enough balancing work and school, but the last thing I wanted to do was come home to do someone else’s dishes.”

Parker and Hampton have been long-time friends, but after moving in together they both noticed the other had habits that needed to be changed.

Parker explained that he turned off the hot water one day because Hampton was taking a long shower, a consistent habit of Hampton’s.

“I heard him scream and run out of the bathroom,” Parker said. “It was classic. The guy takes 30-minute showers twice a day and our water bill is outrageous.”

Emily Nasser had lived in the dorms for three years and is familiar with pushing her roommate’s buttons.

In her first year, she had two different roommates because she couldn’t live with the first.

“We were complete opposites,” she said. “It is really difficult trying to adapt to a stranger’s lifestyle when it is not congruent with yours. In all fairness, I made her life hell.”

Nasser recalled a time when she returned to her dorm after class to find the air conditioner off, making the room extremely hot.

Because her roommate liked the room to remain hot, Nasser decided to turn on the air conditioning to below normal temperatures in retaliation.

“I turned the air down to 50 degrees and let the room get super cold,” she said. “When my roommate came in she immediately yelled at me, calling me names.”
“I thought it was hilarious because even I needed a sweater, but I wanted to show her that not everything could go her way.”

Still, roommates confess that some things they do aren’t to teach a lesson.
Hampton told of a day he borrowed Parker’s favorite hat before heading to the lake. But the hat was on his head when he was pushed into the water and he didn’t return home with it.

“Talk about mad,” Hampton said. “I honestly thought he was going to move out or, at least give me a black eye.”

Parker confessed even juicier secrets than stealing any of Hampton’s clothes.
He recalled one weekend when Hampton was out of town. Parker had his girlfriend over and after a couple drinks things started heating up.

“All I can say is that the next morning we woke up in his bed,” Parker said.
“It was wrong to [do that] in his bed, but what he didn’t know at the time wouldn’t hurt him.”

Whenever two or more students decide to live together, mischief is bound to arise.
For these students, the trouble they caused are nothing but confessions of roommates.