If you’ll be moving out of your house and into a college dorm this fall, you’re going to want to use your new room to express yourself. For the first week of school, your door will probably be open all the time and new people will pop in to say hi. Having some unique items in your room will automatically give you something to talk about with your new friend. They make great icebreakers and you may even find that the two of you have something in common.
First off, the bed is going to be the biggest object in your room. Everybody else will probably have the same old bedding from the same old stores but here is your first opportunity to show off your personality. I recommend picking sheets in a favorite, bright color. This will really liven up your room. This next idea might be a little tricky so you might want to ask your grandma for some help. You know all of those old t-shirts you’ve collected from every activity you’ve ever attended since you were born? How about making a quilt out of them? Each square would tell something new about the life you’ve been living up until now. An easier idea is to stuff some of those shirts with pillow filler and sew all the openings shut. Ta da! New throw pillows!
Now think about what you’re going to hang on the walls. Everyone is going to have posters and pictures of their friends so you’ll want something different. If you’re an artist, that’s great. Paint some canvases to hang around the room so you can show off your skill. If not, ask an artsy friend or relative to make some artwork of something you really enjoy like your favorite sport or pet. An easier idea is to cut out pictures from newspapers and magazines to make a huge collage about your life.
You’ll probably want to put pictures of all your high school friends somewhere though…just incase you start to miss them. Who likes those boring old screensavers that come with most computers anyway? What you can do is gather all of your old pictures together on your computer and put them into a folder. With Windows, go to the screensaver window in the control panel and change your screensaver to the one that uses pictures from your computer. (It’s called “Photos” in Vista). Then simply set the folder you want it to use as the folder you put all your pictures in. This makes a nice moving slideshow of all your pictures that new people will like to sit and watch. It’ll give you the opportunity to tell about your favorite memories.
Another thing you’ll want to think about is lighting. Those bright lights that come with your room are great for reading and studying, but what about when you want to relax? I suggest you get a couple strands of Christmas lights (I prefer the white ones) and hang them around the room. A cheap idea is to go to a party store and pick up a couple of those paper lanterns. Putting lights inside those make a nice, relaxing glow.
Remember to fill your room with things that are important to you. Just because you’re leaving home and starting a new life doesn’t mean you have to leave your old one behind. And don’t forget – it’s perfectly okay to bring teddy along, too.
