The alarm beeps. You roll over and groan; you don’t want to go to class today. Lazily, you turn to the clock. It’s 7 a.m. – on a Saturday? Your roommate was trying to be ambitious again, to get up early to go to work, do her homework or do early-morning yoga on the Lakefill. She doesn’t wake up. Unlike you, she wouldn’t wake up even if you brought in three oboe players to play directly in her ear. You throw your pillow at her. She turns off her alarm – rather, she hits snooze. Four alarms later, she gets out of bed around 9 a.m.Gotta love the roommate life.You’re a freshman, new to everything about college. You’ve got classes to choose, activities to join and social reputations to build. Don’t let living with a roommate be an unnecessary headache.Use these tips to keep you sane as you embark on your first college room-sharing arrangement. ? It’s all about the imaginary line. Arrange your furniture so there is a clear line dividing the room into two equal halves. Anything on your half is your own property, and she’s allowed to let as much stuff pile up as she wants, as long as not even a single flip flop flops over the line. ? Respect the college bed time. Keeping the lights on and using electronics should be fair play until at least midnight – if you’re an early-to-bed, early-to-rise kind of person, you might be annoyed by the nighttime chaos in your dorm. Past midnight? Let your roommate get her beauty sleep. Call your best friend from high school on your cell in the hallway, use a small lamp to light your philosophy textbook and connect with headphones when you watch “The Colbert Report.” And do you really have to strike the keys so hard? ? Wash your dishes. If you’re going to use washable dishes, get some detergent and wash out your Easy Mac when you’re done. Or, better yet, if you’re not quite ready to be a dishwasher, buy some disposable utensils and bowls from CVS and toss them when you’re done. Either way, nobody wants extra creepy-crawly roommates. ? Try not to vomit in your room. You think it’ll never happen to you, but you’ll thank me later. ? Be fair with the music selection. Yes, we know you’re a budding DJ. But how many times should your roommates and neighbors have to listen to “My Humps” before going crazy? ? If you’re into eclectic music, you may want to wait until your roommate goes to Spanish class before blasting your speakers. And for the roommate with a more mainstream taste in tunes – there are always noise-canceling headphones. ? If you snore, try to get a single. Otherwise, you might find crazy videos of yourself on YouTube. ? Warn your roommate before you entertain. If you’re hosting a large gathering – or, um, a private party – make sure your roommate is okay with it. Or at least write a note on the door. ? You snooze, your roommate loses. As mentioned, don’t be obnoxious and set your alarm for a lot earlier than you’re really going to get up. Especially if your roommate is a light sleeper.Sharing a room is like being in a relationship: fun at first, until you feel like you’re being smothered and then break up. Except you can’t break up with your roommate. Don’t do anything you wouldn’t want done to you, and try to be considerate. Because if you’re not careful, you may find next year that your roommate has written a column like this about you.Reach Lia Lehrer at [email protected].