Back in October, my roommate and “friend” suddenly started ignoring me and stopped getting lunch/dinner with me (which is something we used to do all the time). She ignored me for a week straight, and then broke the silence by saying:
“Can you go somewhere during the nights on weekdays and weekends because I feel like you’re in here all the time. I feel like you only leave to eat or go to class. I need my alone time.”
I have a lot of difficult classes and I also work. I’m an introvert, so after a day of class and work I’m EXHAUSTED. So, in my down time I like to lay in my bed and watch Netflix and browse the internet. I finish all my homework at the library and never in the dorm room. I sit quietly with my headphones in and I do NOT do anything to disturb her. I admittedly do not have a lot of friends at college, but I don’t mind it and I am happy just being here to learn.
I have tried to stay out as much as possible. I recently told her about my therapist back home and how I suffer from anxiety and depression, and I broke down crying. The only reason I told her was so she would understand I don’t act the way I do just for the purpose of annoying her. However, I still feel unsafe and unwelcome in my own dorm room. I hate being in here when she is in here, but I don’t want to feel like I can’t be in my OWN ROOM that I pay for simply because she would rather listen to music when I’m not around.
I once came back late one night and she told me she had just sat in her bed motionless for 5 and 1/2 hours “doing nothing”. So why is it ok for her to sit around in her bed, but not for me?
What should I do? I have a lot of anxiety about the situation. I feel she only wants me out of the room so she can sit alone to herself. But I don’t see why she can’t do that when I’m in here, because I sit quietly and I do not talk to her if I feel she is busy.
Am I wrong? Does she have a right to alienate me from the dorm room? What should I do?