You should relax. I lived in a dorm similar to you but with women. College really is the best time. You have to get over yourself and this is the best time to develop your social skills so you feel more comfortable over time. Just be friendly and ask questions (nothing too personal). Where are you from? Where did you go to school? What are you studying? Do you know anything about this college that they don’t tell you in orientation? Do you want to catch a bite to eat later?

Have you been to the student center yet?

Listen to what the person says and respond. Ask more questions. Get them to talk about themselves. Take the focus off yourself and onto them.

You will get used to the bathroom situation. Give yourself time. The bathroom won’t always be busy. You’ll learn when it’s empty if you want more privacy. But really, you are not alone. You should find others that feel like you do so you can be there for each other, helping to adapt. Have fun.

This is the time of your life. Freshman year is tough but it will keep getting better. It will be over before you realize it so enjoy it now. You can never go back. Graduate school is different. I hope this helps. Start thinking good thoughts. Be more optimistic. Don’t expect too much. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Remember that you are not alone. I think that’s most important. Don’t be intimidated. The track star is just a person. He’s not that much different from you. He has fears and reservations like you. But he has faced them and you are going to face them. He’s going to face more but he also has more practice most likely but so what, you can catch up. You could ask for advice. I bet he can offer great advice.

Don’t stress-you’ll be fine. I felt the same way about the bathroom-but I remember that a lot of the time I was the only one in there, other people are busy and it is usually pretty empty. About the famous roommate thing-I think this would be an upside not a downside!!! He is going to know other people on campus, and if you two get along, then his cirle of friends could expand your circle of friends. And if you two dont get along-two things-first, he will probably never be in the room because of practice and other track stuff and second, you can always request a room switch if you just cannot live with the guy. College housing is pretty understand about this kind of situation.

About the lack of an A/C-I went to a college in North Texas and some of the guys dorms didnt have A/Cs….and the guys never complained-they set up fans and hung around the room in shorts and tank tops-and they were fine. So dont worry about that too much.

Mainly, just go to school prepared to be flexible and considerate to others, both your roommate and your dorm mates, and they will most likely be considerable right back. Again, don’t stress-college is the best four years of your life (or longer if you go on to get a higher degree!), you should be super excited!

Sharing a bathroom is part of the Freshman experience. You will quickly learn to cope. They are only crowded first thing in the morning as everyone prepares for the 8:00 am class.

Bring a fan and plan to do studying in the library until the weather turns cooler.

If your roommate is an athlete, he will spend a good deal of time out of the dorm practicing. Yes, he might have friends over if he popular, but you’ll meet new people that way. Agin, the library is a great place to study.

that’s weird. they usually pair up roommates by your personal interests. jocks aren’t always assholes. he could turn out to be a good guy. i understand where you’re coming from though. i have anxiety all the time. i know it’s hard to take advice from people in regards to anxiety… but you really should stop thinking about all the negative aspects and concentrate on a positive experience. i used to always think the worse, and worried so much about what people thought of me. just be yourself and don’t go out of your way to please someone. there will be at LEAST one person in the same boat as you. just think positive and come out of your shell a little. no one knows you, feel free to open up. later, you can always go on craigslist or some other website to move into a house/apt with roommates (but still have your own room and possibly your own bathroom). college is supposed to be a fun time, let your guard down and enjoy it.

ok , here are some important advice from a guy who has lived in droms for 4 years at 3 different schools and still got 2 more years to go at NIU.

let me start by saying that i was pretty much the same way as you are now….but you’ll get those social skills easily….i should know, i learned it the hard way.

Number one thing you shouldn’t do…..is what the first answer suggested….which is being TOO nice. maybe it works for girls but it will not work for you. i was nice and people started to ‘run’ over me as if i didn’t even exsist. i was 17 when i first moved to a dorm and my roommate was almost 21 and had a girl friend from his home town…….so since i was trying to be nice, i let them have their 20 mins in the room WHENEVER they wanted and pretty soon….they stopped asking for permission and i often ended up locked out of my own room in the hall way….which resulted in a huge fight and bad blood for 4 more months until the school ended.

whoever your roommate is…it shouldn’t concern you. just keep a tight leash….don’t let him have everything so easily by being nice. you gotta say NO once in a while (nicely) so that people don’t take you for granted.

that is the most important thing anyone can tell you….and i would also advice you to not to look for ‘fun’ by trying too hard….just be happy with what comes your way….don’t try to party all the time and go after girls…..trust me….its impossible to stay in dorms and not ‘mess around’…..so girls will come your way no matter what but just don’t *** up your expensive education and other things… looking for girls and parties….huge waste of time.

as far as your bathroom concern goes….well you got a thing coming to you……prepare yourself to see un-flushed TURDS in the bathroom. they clean the bathrooms every morning though and you’ll get a habit of waking up early, right after the cleaning lady leaves so you can use the bathroom. privacy is something you are not going to have….but you’ll easily get over that after just couple of weeks.

all in all…dorms can be tourcherous if you don’t watch out but you do learn a lot. just follow my number one advice about not being too nice. just be yourself….don’t bend over backwards to accommodate someone.

Get a really good fan and try to relax.

Let me tell you I had a really bad dorm experience. I had to share a room with a gothic girl which back then i thought was bad enough since I was preppy, well for two weeks straight I woke up and saw dried/wet blood on the floor, I thought she was having her period weird, or a miscarriage. But it turned out she was a cutter.

I am single mum. I have been suffering for panic attacks for some 15 years now, though it was not until recently I understood what they were. They were progressively getting stronger and more frequent, stopping me from some days even leaving my house. I read this book and it all made perfect sense.

I am not saying I was not terrified of putting theory to action, I was more scared of that than the next attack! But I decided to view it as a game, one I had control of and could therefore not lose!