Making a new home away from home

When packing all of the “essentials” of a college student, think of what items to bring along in order to make a room a more inviting and comfortable place to live in. The future room, complete with possible roommate(s) will be more than a simple place to rest and store excess materials, it will be a home for the future.

By Maddie Gillespie

Layout Editor

When packing all of the “essentials” of a college student, think of what items to bring along in order to make a room a more inviting and comfortable place to live in. The future room, complete with possible roommate(s) will be more than a simple place to rest and store excess materials, it will be a home for the future.

“Last year as a freshman I didn’t do a whole lot to personalize my room, but this year I did and I feel a lot more at home and comfortable,” said Greta Carroll, a sophomore.
“Not putting something up on my walls would have made me a little uncomfortable. I brought some of my comic book posters from home and those really make me feel like I can still be a kid sometimes, even when I am swamped with work,” said Alex Riggenbach, a freshman.

Cavemen painted the walls of their caves to portray their exploits and the land around them. Later generations of Man hung works of art on their walls or sculpture pieces, and people today place photos, paintings, and nick-nacks in their homes. College students are not excluded from this personalization of a home or rooms. Students are going into a new environment for the first time and need a place that they feel relaxed in.

“I brought a few stuffed animals and some posters. Blank walls are intimidating, so I have to put something on them. Not decorating my room would definitely kill me. The pictures help me because if I want to see my dog, I can just turn and look at her. Of course, this is no substitute for playing fetch with her, but it helps,” said Angela Palumbo, a sophomore.

Decorating a dorm room does not necessarily need to be a complicated process, it can be as simple as hanging up a few chosen photos of family members, pets, or friends from home. Having such readily available items may even contribute to a decrease in homesickness if a student is concerned with being unable to see those they interacted with on a regular basis back home.

“Even though I get to go home on the weekends every now and then, it’s still nice to have posters and pictures from home on my computer and in a few frames. It kind of makes college seem almost like camp,” said Riggenbach.

Many college students entering into on-campus dorms or living in a house/apartment will have at least one roommate or live in a situation that consists of several students sharing a common room, restroom, and shower set up. This can be a significant change from home, but can be helped by putting up decorations or creating themes within a room(s) of the suite. Different people accomplish this task in different ways, though having a project that involves all of the area’s occupants allows for roommates to better get to know those they are living beside. It makes everyone feel included in their surroundings.

“I think [embellishing a room] really helps you feel closer both to the people you live with and more comfortable there. Working together with the people you live with to make your suite more your own helps you to get to know them better. It allows the suite to reflect each of your individual personalities and your suite’s personality as a whole. We kind of have two themes going on in our suite. We have various Twilight themed items, posters, life-sized standee of Edward Cullen, etc. We also had a winter theme. My suite mates and I cut out snowflakes that we put all over the walls, we had stockings, and a mini Christmas tree,” said Carroll.

Items and themes to bring from home:

1. Posters of favorite book, movie, actor/actress, animal, etc.

2. Standees

3. Removable wall stick-ons

4. Stuffed animals

5. Unique light up trees/lamps

6. Small sculptures/figurines

7. Favorite refrigerator magnets

8. Old sports jerseys to hang up on door or wall

9. Favorite movies to watch with friends in a “movie night”

10. Puzzle books or coloring books when you just want to be a kid

11. Favorite blankets(s)

12. Pictures to hang up of friends and family, even if you have to Facebook stalk them

13. Inspirational quotes

14. Your own curtains that are removable and hang over those provided

15. Old movie/theatre/concert tickets

16. Favorite books

17. Collage of family, friends, sports, anything you can think of

18. Window clings

19. Magazine picture cut-outs

Coordinate with your roommate/suitemates to come up with a fun theme:

1. The Seasons

2. Gaming center

3. Favorite landscape (mountains, forests, prairies, jungles, savannah, etc.)

4. Sport(s)

5. Beach

6. Decorate for major Holidays

7. Movie theatre

8. If you have a theme in your bedroom at home, try to replicate it in your dorm room

9. Favorite movie

10. School colors/mascot

11. Fantasy

12. Sports stadium or favorite team(s)

13. Favorite animals of you and your roommate(s)

14. Comic book heroes/villians

15. 1960’s: psychedelics, tie-dye, peace signs

16. Theme park: make paper attractions or advertisements that you and your roommate(s) love

17. House of horrors or favorite horror movie/effect

18. Art/studio gallery

19. Foreign theme: Asian, Indian, French, etc.