Assuming the ark didn't get ESPN, I wonder if Noah ever considered passing the time by writing a how-to-book on living with roommates. He certainly would have been qualified. After all, the man spent over a year confined to a mobile petting zoo that could've doubled as a supermarket aisle (inhabitants included chickens, turkeys and a man named Ham). That makes Gilligan's "three-hour tour" experience seem like a Caribbean cruise.

Now, if God had stretched Noah's lifespan beyond his scant 950 years a bit longer—say until now—I think Noah surely would have been invited to speak at colleges about living with others. He knew life with a roommate is not easy. He knew roommates can be smelly. He knew not to feed them too late at night. And he knew that not all roommates get along as well as a hippo and, well, one of those birds that lives on hippos.

But on the bright side, living with a roommate has great potential for joy and growth, and it may even be more educational than some of your classes. Building the relationship just takes communication and mutual respect.

I remember being thrilled when I got a "roommate questionnaire" in the mail before my freshman year of college. I figured that meant college officials were going to match me up with someone exactly like me!

I was assured of that when I received a roommate named Tim who loved God and basketball. Bingo, I thought, a match made in heaven. But it wasn't that easy: There were plenty of differences, too. Lucky for me, Tim was a good communicator. And through my experience that first year, I can now pinpoint a number of issues that all roommates should discuss before one of them has his toes inadvertently stomped.

Through extensive and costly research (OK, I asked my mom), I've found that college students are extremely particular when it comes to sleeping habits. Some like to go to bed at 11 p.m., while others hit the sack at 11 a.m. An understanding of your roommate's sleep patterns will be appreciated—and hopefully reciprocated. Work out a schedule and treat each other with respect. If your roommate needs to go to bed at 10, go study or hang out somewhere else. And if you sleep in, communicate respectfully that a loud coffee maker at 6 a.m. isn't so cool.

But once you figure out when you're both sleeping, a new problem comes in: waking up. I, for example, sleep deeper than a hibernating grizzly bear. To compensate, I own an alarm clock that sounds like a rooster with a megaphone. I have received complaints about its noise from neighboring countries—so you can imagine what Tim must have thought. To make matters worse, I'm one of those people who subconsciously hits snooze every seven minutes for like three hours.

Obviously, my sleep habits needed a wake-up call. I had to adapt so I didn't drive my roommate crazy. Tim helped get me up in the mornings, so I worked on getting out of bed before my alarm crowed more than three times.

I was surprised to learn upon attending college that someone other than my father thought my room should be clean. Here again is an important concept to hash out with your new roommate. Tim liked to hang his clothes in the closet, whereas I tried to keep the closet empty so I'd have a place to throw my clothes on parents' weekend.

Once we took each other's habits into consideration, the floor looked a little less like it was carpeted with my clothing. And neatnik Tim tried to restrain himself from using my T-shirts as cleaning rags.

I think Tim was secretly competing with the Rose Bowl in Pasadena in efforts to break attendance records. He loved when a capacity crowd packed into our small room like one of those tiny clown cars.

Because I have a knack for decorating our room with my dirty pants, I was less enthusiastic about turning our room into party central. I also just like alone time. I've heard rumors that some people are like me, but I've never met them. I guess that's because we're all in isolation. But in college, a man's room is his castle, and sometimes it's nice to be able to have a place to shut the drawbridge on the rest of the world for a while. If only I had a moat, too.

So before your roommate throws an all-school bash—and you get caught with your pants, well, lying around the room—sit down and find a compromise between his party place and your personal space.

Ah, the issue of music. This can be a touchy one. Ever hear about the guy who chucked his neighbor's speakers out the window after repeatedly hearing Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" waft into his living area? He lived on my floor.

Tim and I had pretty similar tastes, but I still felt like squirting hot dog condiments into his iPod port every once in a while. The bottom line is that no matter how much I liked what he put on, there was something I would have liked just a little better.

Probably the best case study of this is the tension between country music lovers and everyone else. Some people can't seem to take even a little country in their music diet. Tim was fine with it, but I've had people pull a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde on me when I turned the dial to a country station. At that point, the following conversation generally occurred.

Country Hater (at the sound of Brad Paisley): Ohhh Nooo!

Me: What's the problem?

C.H.: Ohhhhhhh Noooooo! (Gasp, choking sounds).

Me: Whoa, chill out, OK?

C.H. (spitting fireball at the radio, stopping Brad mid-tune): All better.

I've heard this can also happen with rap and hard rock. That said, you might want to chat about musical tastes with your roommate before firing up the iTunes.

For introverted people like me, it's tough to come out and talk about those wimpy, girly things called "feelings." Like many guys, I find it easier to be macho and only show emotion when talking about football, war movies and car parts.

But a roommate will be able to tell when you have had a rough day. If you're a feelings-bottler and he's an emotion-gusher—or the other way around—there can be friction. Some people like to talk about their strains and stresses, while others would rather be left to themselves for a while. Just make sure neither of you bottles up anger toward each other or anyone else—a habit that's truly destructive.

Be sure this is on your checklist of topics to discuss when chatting with that stranger-turned-roommate for the first time.

Of course, all of this communication only works when it turns into action. Make sure you've listened to your roommate, and then respect him for who he is.

God's pretty creative, you know. He whipped up unique characteristics for each individual. When we learn to look at our roommates as special creations of God and not oddball aliens who deserve to be fed kitty litter (though it will seem that way sometimes), college will be even more fun.

One last thing: Pray. Pray for the roommate you have or will have. At college, pray with your roommate. It's all part of building an awesome relationship.

And when the floods come, perhaps you'll view your situation as a floating animal party and not a cage of wild animals.

Josh Johnson is a graduate of John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas.