5 Easy Tips for Getting Along With Your Roommates

Part of being a young adult involves getting support from your fellow peers. As much as we might like to live by ourselves, that is not always possible. receiving help is a perfectly acceptable option when looking for housing, but its not always as easy as just finding a roommate. We all know we can't get along with everyone all the time, and that is especially true when you live with the person. I've personally had my fair share of roommates and have found that following some simple guidelines can go a long way for having a strong healthy relationship with your roommates.

 1. Pick the Right Roommate 

Not everyone is going to be a right pick. If you are someone who values quiet and your roommate uses your place for his band to practice at it may not be the best fit for you. When you meet your roommate discuss possible scenarios before and really get a feel if being roommates is a good idea.




2. COMMUNICATE!
I've had my fair share of roommates, and almost always the problems that arise are due to a lack of communication. It's important to have conversations with the people you live with where you can discuss upcoming events that may effect the both of you, catch up on what's been going on for you recently, maybe you need to let them know you won't have rent till the week after its due... Whatever it is, if it effects the both of you you should let your house mates be aware of it.

3. Set Boundaries
It's important to make your roommates aware of things that cross a line for you. Even if something as obvious to you as "I don't want anyone going into my room unannounced" is important to you you should let your roommate be aware of that. When your roommate does something that you don't appreciate just communicate that whatever they did upset you and you'd like if they didn't do it again.
Examples include: Personal food, belongings you don't want others using, personal space or quiet time, etc....




4. Respect Your Roommates Boundaries
When living with someone its too easy to slip up and accidentally make someone feel disrespected, but we can try our bests to not step on anyone's toes. If you roommate has told you they appreciate it when you wash the dishes you use, try and find some time in your day to wash the dishes or clean up any messes you made in the common space. Good Rules include: Knocking before entering a room, cleaning up messes you made in any communal space, letting your roommate know if your having new people over, if you feel like something you do may make your roommate uncomfortable its always good to just ask them.

5. Be a Good Roommate
This is honestly easier said than done, I know for me personally I don't usually clean up after myself till the mess is unbearable  to me, but of course not everyone shares my view on this. Find some time every day to help around the house, take out the trash if its full, unload the dish washer, change the roll of toilet paper when you finish it, etc...


having Roommates is a great way to save money and build strong friendships, but like everyone else worth while it takes work. I guarantee if you follow these tips you and your roommates will be much happier.

How to Find the Perfect Party Dress

Get the party started! That is the message 'New Look' has for all you teens who want to look hot in your party dresses this spring! Party dresses are a wardrobe staple for teen girls, and as with most of 'New Look’s' versatile range, they can be dressed up or down to suit the occasion. 

Cute floral and animal prints are simple, sassy and elegant and will certainly make you teens look way too cool for school this spring! The midi dress is also chic this season, and 'New Look' has a range of midi dress colours and prints to suit all tastes. Aztec prints, tapestry prints, polka dots, butterfly and other animal prints are on the high street this spring, and they are certain to put a spring in your step on the way to that cool party that everyone is talking about!

Some party dresses have been designed this season to showcase the clever “nipped-in” waist feature, which allows you to adjust the party dress to the size you require. This feature can even be used to adjust party dresses to better suit the occasion or time of day. Fitted party dresses with a nipped in waist are sure to impress all those hot guys walking past at night when the party is in full swing. The adjustable nipped-in waist feature can also be adjusted to afford causal comfort, for those trips to the shops, or down at the pizza or ice-cream shop. 

Party dresses can be accessorised wonderfully with cool, chic accessories like beads, a satchel bag, cropped demin jackets, sandals or some cute jewelry to make you fit right in at that coolcat party your friends were dying to be invited to. You can even pair a cute party dress with a demure cardigan to keep watchful parents happy (if it cramps your style, you can always hang it over the back of a chair later as the party heats up!). 

A  party dress should be light, durable and easy to care for. Simply roll it up and it fits snugly in the smallest of handbags – perfect for a discreet change of clothes in the bathroom on your way to the coolest party in town. Minimal ironing will keep your party dress looking fabulous. 

So the verdict on New Look’s range of party dresses this spring is that these dresses are hard to beat! Many have a classic, timeless cut making them suitable for wearing all year round depending on how you choose to dress them up or down or accessorise them. Gone are the days when the party dress was a high fashion indulgence! This is sure to put a smile on many a parent’s face and with timeless, classic cuts these great, chic,simple party dresses can even be stored for little sisters, or cousins to ‘grow into’ from fashion season to season. New Look has all the answers for teens looking to make a cool impression this spring, so get down to New Look and get kitted out in the latest coolcat party dresses! 

Article by Sarah Smith

5 Ways Teens Can Make a Little Extra Money

It used to be that there was only one way for a teenager to earn some money while still in school - the “part-time job”. With resume in hand, going down to the local grocery store, clothing store or fast-food joint and filling out an application. They used to call them McJobs. But if you wanted to make some extra money while in school, you had no choice. You’d be forced to take that minimum wage position. What makes it worse is that nobody wanted to do that for a career, it was just a way to make a little extra money.

But times have changed, and there are now many more ways to make some extra money. Here are just a few.

1. Running Your Own Service Business

You’ve heard this one before. Yards need mowing, leaves need raking, pools need cleaning, snow needs shoveling, walls need painting, boxes need moving, and the list of things that people would need help with and would be willing to pay for it is a long one. The truth is that many teens are not too thrilled about the traditional service business, but that spells opportunity for anyone who has the energy and hustle to go out into their neighborhood and earn some income through hard work and perhaps hard labor. While other students are asking about fries to go with their sandwich, you could be picking up all the opportunities on the same street where you live.

One thing that turns this from “just another a part-time job” into a real business is that you can actually recruit some of your friends to help you, and make some extra money through the hard work of others.

Let’s say you decide to enter the lawn care business, and are able to find some homes in the local neighborhood that need regular mowing, watering, raking and cleanup. You get customers willing to pay you $50 every two weeks to keep their lawns nice. Does that mean you get 3 or 4 of these customers and then work your butt off for the rest of the semester until you collapse from exhaustion? No!

What you should do is find a reliable friend who is willing to accept $40 to go mow a lawn and rake some leaves every two weeks. For him or her, they don’t have to deal with the customer, they just show up and do some work whenever they have time in the week. For you, you collect $50 and pay them $40.

And you do that many, many times. You never have to mow a lawn all year and make more than your friends that do.

2. Selling Stuff to Friends and Classmates

In every class, there is at least one person who can get stuff. You might casually mention that you are looking for the latest pair of basketball shoes but they are sold out everywhere, and then a week later you get a text saying they found a pair and would you like them to get it for you? Or the person who has a backpack full of the cutest jewelry and sells them to people for a really great price. Or that guy who has those sick DC t-shirts that they just don’t sell anywhere near where you live.

That person could be you. You could find out where rings, bracelets, earrings, and necklaces are sold very cheaply (hint: China), go through the sites and find the best items you know all your friends would want, buy a bunch of them for yourself, and then when they arrive show them to people and see if anyone wants to buy it. If you buy something for $1 and sell it for $5, that’s a pretty good deal for you. Be sure to start small, ordering just a few things at first before seeing if its something worth doing.

3. Online Writing

They say that the Internet doesn’t know or care about your age, and it doesn’t. If you like to write and consider yourself OK at it, you might want to consider making some money from it. There are plenty of sites such as odesk.com, elance.com and fiverr.com where you can accept small writing assignments, and get paid $5, $10, or $20 for them or more. If you do this once every few days, this could allow you to be wearing new clothes all year (or start saving for college).

4. Fiverr

Speaking of Fiverr, there are many people selling stuff on there (for $5) other than writing. People do art, make short videos, take pictures with a company name written on their hand, and all manner of stuff for $5. Depending on your skills and location, you might have something unique to offer. $5 doesn’t seem like a lot - and it’s not. But getting started on fiverr could lead to selling your skills on ebay, etsy or other sites that allow you to charge more. Fiverr is an easy way to start.

5. Tutoring

And finally, we couldn’t leave the school world entirely with this list. The thing is, if there are subjects you are good at, you could become a tutor and make a few extra dollars teaching those subjects to others. Being a teen teaching another teen might give you a particular advantage, since you are still in the midst of schoolwork and learning. If you took a course last year and got an A, you’d need to find students who are taking that same course this year and having trouble. The thing is, the students are not your customers. Their parents are. You need to convince the parents of students who are having difficulty keeping up with the course that, for $20 a week, you are the solution to that problem. Not only do you know this, you passed this subject with an A with the exact same teacher last year.

Alternately, you could tutor students much younger than you. If you’re in high school, you could offer to tutor middle school or primary school students in difficult subjects like Math. 



As you can see, there are many opportunities outside the fast-food part-time jobs, that pay just as well or better. Many of these businesses allow you to set your own schedule, so you can do the assignment on a Sunday afternoon when you are free instead of a Friday night, when you would rather be doing something else. And who knows, if you start a business and do well at it, you can keep that business going for years and turn it into something *really* big.

Article by Scott Duffy of BusinessIdeasFor.com

BusinessIdeasFor.com is a web site dedicated to exploring all of the different ways to make money, with informative articles on how to do each one.  It also contains links to other resources on these ideas, and is a good place to go when you are looking for a new business to start and are looking for ideas.

How to Make Friends in High School

Whether we like to admit it or not, humans craze the feeling of being liked. We are social creatures that have been blessed with a complex ability to communicate very clearly with one another. So I say we use our gift to the best of our ability and get out there and make new friends.

High school is full of different people that all have different opinions and interests. Sometimes it's hard to social with various students when they don't seem interested, but I will let you in on a little secret - we ALL craze social interaction. This article will tell you some ways that you can get out there and make new friends, all you have to do is be confident and give these simple suggestions a try!

Mix it Up

High school is usually divided into cliques, or a group of people that share a common interest (ex. jocks, preps, band nerds, etc...) however branching out is great! You will learn more about different people, interests, and activities. here are some ways to do just that.

• Sit at a different lunch table then you usually do. Now sadly sometimes certain people won't appreciate an outsider joining their table. But try it out, explore several different groups and be sure to introduce yourself and start a conversation.
• Join different clubs like yearbook, a sports team, chess club, drama club, etc... There are so many options in high school. And remember that you don't have to know how to play chess to join chess club, be strong to join football, or be a good actor to join drama. As long as you try your hardest and support your teammates they will embrace and teach you.
• You can always do volunteer work for something your passionate about. With all the pollution,  crime, and world disasters (sorry to be dark) happening these days it shouldn't be hard to find something to participate in. The best part is that you are likely to meet someone interesting that shares your passions while helping out your community.

Don't be shy

It's only natural for us to be shy. Daily we are told no, and are rejected, so whats going to be so different now? Well most people enjoy being around a confident person. Not saying that you can't be shy but try not to shake or get so nauseous you puke.

• Be the one that starts a conversation, there are two benefits to this. First you get to pick the topic which can be a powerful advantage, for instance you can pick a topic that you are strongly educated and/or passionate about. Secondly you don't seem like a creep just standing there waiting for the other person to say something. When I talk to strangers sometimes I will walk over and simply say "I hate clowns." It can be as simple as that, plus it's intriguing, "why does he hate clowns"?  Yours can be anything but keep it simple and light to began with.
• Don't be afraid to talk to someone you don't know, Within reason of course. I'm not telling you to go talk to some 50 year old candy man that drives a white van. As long as you feel comfortable that the person is safe than you should definitely whip us a conversation with them. 
• Introduce yourself to whomever your just spoke to. It does you no good if you just connected with someone but they have no way of knowing who you are.

Be a good friend

Once you have established new relationships you have to continue to spend effort maintaining them. 

• Be loyal to everyone that calls you a friend, you shouldn't lie to a companion. High school is notorious for gossip, and your actions will get back to the ears of your friends sooner or later. 
• Be there for your friends when they need it the most. Now don't spend all your time trying to fix their problems, but when they ask you for help and advice be there to show them you care. 
• Be reliable, if you tell someone something, try to follow through on your word. If you keep blowing off your new friends they won't trust you in the future.

I hope this article helped you make tons of new friends, now all you have to do is balance your time between them all! Good luck and the best of wishes to you.

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Post Written by Rowan Domayne Johnson

Contact me at Domayneblogs@gmail.com

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