Making College Your Home
The boxes are piled and spread throughout the room as garbage sacks, bubble wrap and shreds of newspaper cover the floor. It’s moving day – the day students anticipate and dread as the task of organizing and decorating kick into gear. Leaving the Winnie the Pooh or Power Ranger bedroom set behind, many students now get to start from the basics. Some may wonder what to pack besides a year supply of Ramen Noodles and macaroni and cheese. More importantly, others will question how they will make a dorm room feel like home.
“Bring pictures,” said Tara Paxman, a freshman in accounting. “You need them to remind yourself of what’s left at home. College is a culture shock, and you need that comfort.”
Sherrie Lambert, a sophomore in elementary education, said she agrees.
“You need pictures to remind you of all your good memories. They help you feel like you’re not completely alone at times,” she said.
Pictures seem to be a common trend among college dorms. Eighty-year-old grandmas in the pink party hats and little sisters naked in the tub always seem to be good conversation starters. They tend to liven up a room and give it a little more personality.
“My roommate and I bought fish,” said Hailey Smith, a freshman in psychology. “We have matching fish tanks and even matching fish. It definitely adds a lot more to the room and makes it more unique.”
Even organizing a dorm room can often turn out more difficult than expected. There is the decision of whether to bring the cardboard palm tree or the Chinese lanterns.
“You need the stuff that gives you that comforting feeling,” Smith said. “I know, for me, I had to bring my clothes, lots of pictures, my own bedding and my pillows.”
Other students like Josh Ferrer, a freshman in electrical engineering, wouldn’t be able to leave home without the memories of athletic achievements.
“I brought a lot of my karate and bowling awards. Also a chess board because I love chess and it has been one of my favorite games for years,” he said. “My awards liven up my colorless room and let my guest see what type of things I am interested in. It helps them know more directly what I am about.”
Paxman knew exactly what she wanted to bring when she prepared to move away. “I had to bring my bear my boyfriend gave me, along with my hippo named Lola,” she said.
For many college students, the idea of decorating a dorm either terrifies or bores them. Decisions on how to take their dorm from drab to fab come into view, and they often become frustrating and overwhelming. Thoughts on where to hide the stereo to play the ocean wave soundtrack or on what wall to hang the neon-colored Christmas lights can quickly become discouraging. Even the trial of adding bits of all the roommates’ ideas can be a struggle.
“Remember to use a little of your own decorations,” Lambert said. “It gives you that feeling of home. My roommate, for example, has a lot of her own decorations. I like them, but it is not the same as my own. It just doesn’t fit my personality. So if I had to give any advice, it would be to do a little decorating your own way.”
Don’t let the frustrations of interior decorating ruin relationships with new roommates. If objections appear on whether or not to hang the Disney coloring pages, let them know. Each individual has the same right to jazz up the place.
College is the place where students can express themselves. Have some fun with it.
“Do things you like to do,” Lambert said. “Don’t be afraid around others. If so, you won’t get very far. Express yourself. That is the only way you will get the true college experience.”
Trying to personalize his room, Jeramy Johnson, sophomore in biology, hangs up a poster in his fraternity house. Several students bring items from home to liven up where they will be living for the school year. PATRICK ODEN photo
PO.f.newstudents34