housing guide
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME 6 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR DORM ROOM FEEL COZY
I
ERIN BRASSEY COLLEGE TIMES
t can be really hard heading off to college, no matter how far from home you move. You will have to make new friends, find a new routine and learn to live without having your family in the next room. So, there’s no need to make it any harder by leaving all of the pieces of your home behind. Use these simple ideas to fill your dorm room with everything that will make you feel like you are still at home.
#1. SURROUND YOURSELF WITH THOSE WHO LOVE YOU. Although you may have come to college to find a new life, make new friends and create new adventures, that doesn’t mean the old life has to be forgotten. One of the easiest ways to feel at home in your dorm room is to make sure you are constantly looking at the faces of the people who helped fill your life with love for so long. Display your favorite pictures with family and friends, and you will always feel at home
when you feel the happiness and love radiating from that moment frozen in time.
#2. BRING ALONG A PIECE OF YOUR CHILDHOOD. You might technically be an adult now, but your childhood is still a big piece of who you are and just as big a piece of the place that you call home. Blankets, pillows or books that were there for you throughout your life are good options. Another easy way to bring a piece of your childhood is to bring your home. Buy and display a postcard or snow globe from your hometown. All of the great memories will come flooding back every time you look at it.
#3. CREATE FAMILIAR SCENTS. What better way to make your dorm room feel like home than to make it smell like home: the scent of your mom’s famous cookies, your dad’s favorite cologne or just the air freshener that was constantly sprayed around the house. The creation of your home scents will give you a special connection to your home, and any scent that brings up a positive image of home is one that will make you feel at home, even if you might be sitting thousands of miles away.
#4. USE YOUR SPEAKER TO BLAST FAMILY FAVORITES. Everyone already knows that you brought a speaker for jamming out to the new hits with all the new friends you are destined to make. However, that speaker is also great for taking a look back at the life you lived before college and feeling the warmth of home within your dorm room. Have a playlist made and ready to blast with all of the songs you and your family and friends used to jam out to for when homesickness tries to sneak up on you. The music will link you to all of the great memories that happened while the song was playing in the past.
#5. DON’T FORGET YOUR FAMILY MOTTO. Quotes are always a fun way to decorate your dorm room, so why not make sure the quotes you are displaying mean something to
you? Think back over your life and remember those little sayings that maybe your uncle or your grandma or even your best friend used to tell you to make you smile. These are the words of encouragement and positivity that will not only keep you studying for that big test when you feel like all you want to do is have fun, but they will also connect you with the people who make up your home.
#6. MAKE SURE YOUR LAPTOP HAS A GOOD WEBCAM. Now all of these other ways to make your dorm room feel like home are very effective, but nothing is as effective as the real thing. So head off to college with a good way to video chat and stay in contact with family and friends. Video chats will give you the opportunity to bring your home to you, even if it is just for a little while. CT
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