4th and Ruddle

Living off campus is a wonderful blessing. I am currently living with three roommates. Each of us have different personalities and add something different to the house. We regularly joke about who plays what role in our little family. For examples, I am the father always taking care of everyone else, being the provider, and still trying to have as much fun as possible. To not embarrass my roommates I will change their names but many of you will be able to guess who is who. Peter is the mother. He is always worried and concerned that we are going to hurt ourselves, always picking up after us, and constantly saying, "I don't think that's a good idea" which most of the time he is right but we do it anyways. Larry is the rebellious son, always looking for trouble, picking fights, full of energy, and just being wild. Finally, there is Donald, the toddler. The rest of the family is trying to guide him through life while giving him a hard time since he is the youngest and is very curious, always asking questions.

When it comes to purchasing items for our household, I can see who plays each role in our house. I am the gatekeeper, influencer, decider, buyer, and user. I tend to initiate the process and gather the information. I have influence over rest of the household. Usually, I make the final decisions. Unfortunately, I tend to be the buyer but in a college house everyone provides in one way or another and of course I use the product. Peter is an influencer and a user. Larry is a gatekeeper, influencer, and user. Donald has a tendency to just be a user but occasionally is a influencer. Each of us plays a role during the purchase process in our household and has some form of ability to impact the decision making process.