College Student Guide to having a Fun Dorm Room

College Student’s Guide to having a fun Dorm Room

By: Jackson Kaplan

In all of the College Student Articles I will tell you what you want to have, why and I will give some extra tips. I am trying to supply the college students of today with a little bit of help for their first "college experience".
Check out some of the other ones; College Student’s Guide to the Macbook Pro, College Student’s guide to Ipad, College Student’s Guide to Move In Day, and College Student’s Guide to a Successful First Month

What you will want:

Laptop

Music and Speakers

Open Door

Camera

Video camera

Laptop

If at all possible, have someone in your dorm room in possession of a laptop.
There are so many things that can be done with a laptop to kill hours of time.
For example, Youtube and Facebook are things that every person has something special on,
whether it is a new hilarious video, or a new game on Facebook. You do not realize how much a
laptop can allow you to connect with people who you would otherwise have little, or nothing to say to.
BE SURE to have a plug close by though, cause you can drain your battery fairly quickly.

Music

I have found that if you have music constantly playing at a background level, it is very enjoyable.
In my dorm room there is never true silence, which I personally like.
I have a set of speakers for my iPod that I got for pretty cheap, and they work amazingly.
Another added bonus is that my roommate has a set of computer speakers .
They plug directly into any headphone jack and the3y have two speakers and a subwoofer.
We also have a USB speakers , so that if we want to be on the laptop on the bed,
we can still blast our music if we want to.

Open door policy

In my room about 90% of the time our door is propped open; the only times when its not are when
we are sleeping or not in the room. I have found that a lot of people, who are passing by that
know us, will occasionally just stop in our room to talk. They also, sometimes, hear the music
and it reminds them that we are in there so they come in and say hi. This is a great way to meet
people also. If you have music playing and an open door people are more likely to say hello, even if they don’t know you yet.

Camera

Though this may not seem like a big deal to have, but when people are constantly coming in and
out of your room, you never know when there is going to be a moment that you feel you must capture.
For example, I was sitting in my room yesterday and my friend walked in with a sheet of paper,
attempting to look like a ghost, and stood in the corner of my room waiting for my roommate.
Had I not had a charged camera, no one would believe that story. Keep your camera close at all times,
because you will want to remember the moments that you have while sitting in your room.

Video Camera

I know that a lot of cameras can shoot video, but it is always good to have someone
in your room in possession of a video camera. You never know what people will do when
they realize they are being recorded. It is a great way to capture the essence of your room, and find out hidden talents
that your friends have. On top of that, if you are all just hanging out you never know what conversations might arise that you will be glad you recorded.
This was a realization we made after the first month of school. We found ourselves saying "Wow I wish we had a recording of this" way too often to not get a video camera.

College Student's guide to "Camping"

College Student's guide to "camping"

In all of the College Student Articles I will tell you what you want to have, why and I will give some extra tips. I am trying to supply the college students of today with a little bit of help for their first "college experience." I am currently a student at Cal State University Channel Islands. If you would like to contact me this is my photography
page. Check it out and check out some of the other College Student Guides; College Student's Guide to the Macbook Pro, College Student's guide to Ipad, College Student's Guide to Move In Day, College Student's Guide to a Successful First Month and College Student's Guide to having a fun Dorm Room


What is it?

The reason that I put camping in quotations is very simple. I went "camping" with a few friends a couple months ago, and I expected to be out in the wilderness, just us and the woods. However, I was mistaken. Everyone had their cell phones, and iPods and iPhones; it was like we were home, minus the other people and the roof. So if you want to actually go camping as a college student I would not recommend this article. However, if you want to go on a modified camping trip this is an article you would enjoy.



Items you will need (and why)

iPod

An iPod is necessary for any "camping" trip.
You will need it to be able to listen to your favorite music and watch all the movies you haven't had time to in your busy life.
They also make for quite a helpful tool when trying to fall asleep. Personally I would rather listen to music than the unknown sounds of the forest or beach.

Speakers

Any "camping" trip, that has an iPod or any other music device, needs some speakers. I would recommend solar powered speakers like the one that we brought.
Not only was the sound quality great, but the speakers charged the iPod at the same time. So we never had to worry about a dying iPod battery.

Cell Phone

Whether your cell phone is an iPhone or just a regular old phone, a "camping" trip would not be complete without it. If you have an iPhone or other internet capable phone, you would obviously be able to update your Facebook and Twitter, which is apparently quite a huge deal. Along with that, you can remain in contact with everyone and their mother, so as not to miss a single drop of juicy gossip.

Camera

Even though we all have camera phones now, it is nice to have an actual camera to capture those amazing moment; whether the moments be funny faces, bears, or just a beautiful scene. Be sure that if you bring a camera you have a couple of extra batteries. This is beneficial so that if you have to charge your cell phone and you iPod, you have some extra batteries in case something fun happens that you want to capture on film.

GPS

Whether or not you get lost often, a GPS can't hurt. We had one that actually helped us find a couple of very interesting spots near where we were sleeping. This was also helpful in getting us back home once we got back in the car and had lost our printed directions. I would HIGHLY recommend a carrying case, because we did not have one and now there is a massive scratch in the screen of my friend's GPS (which makes the touch screen freak out quite a lot).

Battery Chargers

Make sure that, with all of your electronic devices, you are equipped with some convertible chargers. What I mean by this is that there are chargers that can convert from a car charger, to a wall outlet charger, to a battery charger and even to a 9 volt battery charger. The one that we had was a 4-in-1 that charged any 2 USB capable devices at the same time. This meant that since we all had our USB phone chargers handy, I was able to charge my battery while my friend could charge his. This is very helpful for continuous communication with the real world.

Frequently asked questions:

Why continue to use all of your electronics to communicate with the world you are escaping?

I too asked this question, but with the instant gratification and instant communication of everyone in the world, it is difficult to be away from people for too long. Remember, we want to be away from work and real life, we don't want to be away from the other people (there just wasn't room in the car).

Is it really fun "camping"?

I personally had a blast. When I went I was a little skeptical, but once I saw the real enjoyment in it and immersed myself it was really fun. I equate it with hanging out with friends, except that there is no work to be done or annoying things to ruin your day. It is you and the wilderness. And another major point I want to add is that you control when and who you talk to. If you are at home, everyone can contact you when they want to, but not when you are out in the wilderness.

Check out the College student guide updates. New one talks about how to be a succesful collegestudent in your first few months of school. http://ping.fm/Z9L8W

College Students Guide to a Succesful First Month

College Students Guide to a Successful First Month
(Electronics Specific)

In all of the College Student Articles I will tell you what you want to have, why and I will give some extra tips. I am trying to supply the college students of today with a little bit of help for their first "college experience".
Check out some of the other ones; College Student's Guide to the Macbook Pro, College Student's guide to Ipad, College Student's Guide to Move In Day and College Student's Guide to a Successful First Month

What you will want:

Camera

Camera Case

Laptop

Laptop Case

Extra Batteries

CHARGERS

iPod (or other MP3 device)

Speakers

Camera

Don't get me wrong; I do not under any circumstances think you NEED to buy an SLR camera, but trust me that you will want a camera. And you will not just want to have it during move in day, thought it is one of the better days to have it. My first day at school I took about 400 pictures; and that was before I even unpacked. It is something that you will definitely want to remember. Move in day is really the time when it hits you that you are in college. Plus, everyone is new to you, and you will want to remember every second of it. Therefore, a camera is ESSENTIAL.

Camera Case

When you have a camera, a case for it is very necessary. In the later days of your first couple of months you will want to be able to keep your camera safe. A lot of the camera cases that you can get have a neck strap and are fairly cheap. If you get a camera, which as I said I do recommend, you will need a camera case, it is that simple. Plus, it is a great storage space for other camera items; memory card, filter, cleaning cloth etc.

Laptop

In today's technological college education, a laptop is almost essential. I am not going to tell you that you MUST get one, but you will definitely need a computer. A lot of schools now have everything on the internet. My teachers, for example, post homework, class notes and even tell us when class is cancelled, ALL ONLINE. The reason that I recommend a laptop over a regular computer is simple; they are portable. This may not seem like as much of a necessity, however, when you have a portable computer you can take it to class, you can disappear to the library and do work on YOUR computer. The benefit of this is that all of your notes, work, homework, essays and projects are all in one place. You do not have to shuffle them around. Along with this, there are going to be a lot of times when you want nothing more than to lay in bed and watch a movie, or talk to your friends online, or even study (what a crazy thought), and having a laptop makes that very easy. The final benefit of a laptop is that you can take it easily home with you, and back to school. The portability factor of a laptop is really something that you will end up wanting in college.

Laptop Case

First off, this is obviously only for those of you that choose to get a laptop. There are also a few very different types of cases. There are the clip-on ones and then there are just plain bags. The bags are good for people who are very careful with their laptops. For example, if you aren't going to be going anywhere “dangerous” with them, then a bag would be fine. They are mostly used for people who are not hard on their laptops and who are just in need of a case for transportation; car, train, bus etc. However, if you plan on taking it to the beach, and to lunch and to most places outside, I would recommend getting a clip on case. Most of them you can get for fairly cheap and they just snap right on to your computer. There are also sleeves, for a specific purpose. If you have a briefcase, or backpack, and you want to keep your laptop protected, it is perfect. This way you can get a cheaper thing to protect your laptop while carrying it in something with all of your other stuff.

Extra Batteries

This may not seem like a huge deal, with all of the things that we have running off of DC outlets. However, it is important to remember, when you are out taking pictures, or you are using one of the rare things that needs AA or AAA batteries (like a flashlight) you will want to know that you are fully charged. The camera batteries are especially important, because if you have extras you can always have one fully charged one, whether you are charging the other, or it dies while you are shooting.

Chargers

THESE ARE A NECESSITY. Everyone now has a cell phone, iPod, laptop, and a million other things that need to be charged on a regular basis. You should have a separate charger for home and school. I know this seems like a waste of money, but speaking from experience it is much much easier. You do not want to leave your house, drive 6 hours or 1 hour or even twenty minutes, just to remember that you forgot your phone charger. I would recommend at the very least a phone charger for home and school. However, if you are able I would recommend a laptop charger for both as well. You never know when you are going to forget it, and be unable to get back in that day.

iPod (or other MP3 device)

iPods, and other MP3 devices, are almost essential for a relaxing and successful college career. Though it may not seem like a necessity, there are hundreds of times when it is helpful. Whether you are walking across campus alone, or getting in the car for a long bus ride, or taking a road trip with your friends, iPods can be used all of the time. I use my iPod in my room all of the time, and I continue to listen to it every time I am in the car.

Speakers

As great as it is to have an iPod, I personally like to be able to hear it throughout my room. I play my iPod through my speakers, which luckily also plug into my computer. This is also a thing that can make a great dorm room atmosphere. If you are playing relaxing music people are more likely to stop by and say hello, they are drawn to your music. Make sure that you get speakers that you can turn down though. The reason being as simple as when it is one or two o'clock in the morning your Resident Assistant will not necessarily like to be hearing your music.

College Students Guide to Move In Day

What you will want
Camera
iPod
Speakers
Other

Camera
Don’t get me wrong; I do not under any circumstances think you NEED to buy an SLR camera, but trust me that you will want a camera. And you will not just want to have it during move in day, thought it is one of the better days to have it. My first day at school I took about 400 pictures; and that was before I even unpacked. It is something that you will definitely want to remember. Move in day is really the time when it hits you that you are in college. Plus, everyone is new to you, and you will want to remember every second of it. Therefore, a camera is ESSENTIAL.

iPod (or other MP3 device)
iPods, and other MP3 devices, are almost essential for a relaxing and successful college career. Though it may not seem like a necessity, there are hundreds of times when it is helpful. Whether you are walking across campus alone, or getting in the car for a long bus ride, or taking a road trip with your friends, iPods can be used all of the time. I use my iPod in my room all of the time, and I continue to listen to it every time I am in the car.

Speakers
As great as it is to have an iPod, when you are moving in you are going to want to be able to actually listen to it. What better way than to have it playing throughout the room? Another added bonus of the speakers is that people are more likely to introduce themselves to a person who is playing music for them to hear at move in time. I had so many people find my room just to see where the music was coming from. Yet another positive is that when your family leaves and you are finally alone in the room, it helps to have some sound. My roommate and I first bonded over music, which was playing through my iPod speakers.

Other
When you move in there are a few things that you will want to have but will not think about. First and foremost, remember to bring some snacks. You will be able to get food but snacks are always good to have in the room. Remember chargers for everything; laptop, cell phone, camera etc. Also, remember that it is everyone else’s first day as well, so be friendly to everyone. Other things that you are definitely going to want to remember are soap, deodorant, toothbrush/toothpaste, liquids and a shower kit. Shower kits usually consist of a bag a shampoo, a conditioner, body wash/soap, and a towel; for those of you that have community bathrooms these are essential. Also for those of you that have community bathrooms I would recommend a pair of “bathroom flip-flops” cause you never know what you are stepping in.

SMILE
Remember that no matter how freaked out you are, there is most likely someone more worried about leaving their parents than you are. So try to smile as much as possible. You never know when smiling at someone is going to make their day. Also the happier you seem the more likely people are to talk to you. We all have this burning desire to make friends in college, but no one really knows where to start.
So my helpful tips are three simple steps.
1. Smile and don’t be scared to get out there.
2. Introduce yourself to people who look like they are worried, see if you can help them
3. Keep an open door and an open mind
The first step is simply to appear, and be, more friendly. There have been countless studies that when you smile, other people smile back, and therefore you are more likely to be happier. Also a smile makes you seem approachable. The second step is to help you remember that everyone is there on their first day. No one is coming in knowing everyone, so they are more likely to want to meet new people at the beginning of the year. The third step is simply because if you have an open door, you can see everything that is happening; if you can see everything you can see everyone; if you can see everyone you are more likely to be open to meeting them. And an open mind can go a long way.

Check out this really awesome stop motion video using AA batteries!! http://ping.fm/Ilu7g
#stopmotion

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