For students moving away from their permanent residence, the transition can take a bit of adjustment, perhaps of your behaviours or assumptions or getting used to different kinds of people.
In your first year, it’s unlikely that you will have chosen your room or flatmates. This is often a good thing; you meet a wide range of different people with different life experiences to you and from different places.
However, occasionally personalities or lifestyles can clash and you may not like who you are living with. It’s OK not to like everyone, however it’s important that you are tolerant and polite to everyone and don’t let assumptions about people get the better of you – there are lots of people who can be best friends but very different from one another.
If there are people you really do clash with, or who upset you, it’s important that you communicate, negotiate, compromise and empathise with other people. The more you talk about things, the more you will understand why someone acts a certain way, or indeed help them to change their behaviour if it is upsetting you. Communication is essential; if possible you should at least try to talk directly to the person who is upsetting you.
In some cases you may not feel this is possible, and so it’s important that you talk to friends, tutors, wardens or accommodation staff about the issue. If you feel you or another housemate is being bullied by someone you should report this report this to someone. All universities and colleges will have policies and procedures relating to bullying, harassment and equality and diversity issues, which should be taken seriously.