Let's face it, while the dorms at Hopkins are pretty nice as far as amenities go, the white walls and jail cell-square rooms don't exactly scream out "home."
Luckily, there are a few minor adjustments you can make to transform your room into a space defined by you and not just the number on your door.
The most obvious way to personalize your room is through your bed.
After all, where do you spend more time than lounging in bed doing homework, or lounging in bed surfing online, or lounging in bed watching TV, or lounging in bed sleeping or ... you get the point. The bed is the central focus point of any bedroom.
I'm sure that in the summer before freshman year you picked out your bedding and that was that; you've kept it the same ever since. That's absolutely fine, as bedding can be expensive and a real pain to switch.
However, you can expand upon what you already have. Something as simple as a cute pillow can add a little something to your bed. Or instead of hiding your favorite teddy bear from home under the bed, show some pride in your love and perch him on top. He'll add some extra charm to your room, not to mention how grateful he'll feel!
If you're not really into the potentially girly additions of pillows and toys and such, there is a very simple, very traditional way to make your room reflect who you are. Obviously dorm rooms are pretty boring. Wood beds, wood furniture, white walls. Those darn white walls.
While, unfortunately, we are not allowed to paint on University property, there are less permanent ways to make your walls less boring. Posters are the most commonly-used tool to get the job done. Most college dorms you walk into will have the walls covered in posters declaring who their favorite actor is, what their favorite band is, what their favorite drink is and, most importantly, how to mix their favorite drink.
However, there is a catch. Look around your friends' rooms more closely. All the posters people own are basically the same: Either a cool picture with some saying below like "Inspiration" or "Teamwork" or a famous work of art or a rock band. So how can you make sure you escape the cliché wall hangings of Maroon 5 and Stewie Griffin?
The answer is actually quite simple: Instead of hanging up things that you like, why don't you hang up something that means something to you instead?
For instance, you know all those awesome concerts you went to this year at Sonar? Instead of buying an expensive poster to plaster on your wall, just save the ticket stub!
Tickets can make really cool additions to your wall, especially if they're from various places and events. Or take some colorful Post-Its, write memorable quotes them and smack them on up next to those ticket stubs!
You'll be surprised to see how quickly you accumulate various pieces of paper and such that have meaning in your life. (For an even cooler wall, try taping up your favorite News-Letter articles or even ones you wrote yourself!)
Of course there is one wall hanging that is more personal than all the rest. You may have heard that "A picture tells a thousand words." Well imagine 100 pictures and how many words they could tell. Many sites will let you upload your photos online and have them printed out in real picture quality for about 10-15 cents a photo. And if you do it through a site like http://www.cvs.com, you can even pick the pictures up at the local store and save the shipping fees! What could be more personal and homey than seeing the faces of your friends and family every morning when you first wake up? To add an extra flair, arrange the photos in patterns on your wall.
This last quick fix only applies if you're in a double. The first couple of months of school it's understandable that you want your own space while you're to adjusting to your new room. However, after you've had time to get to know your roommate, OPEN UP A LITTLE!
I don't mean just by talking to him or her but by literally opening up your room. Doubles in the freshmen dorms and McCoy set up the rooms with a nice little partition of desks and wardrobes.
While this may be great for privacy, it's awful for promoting roomie unity. I highly urge you to swing all the furniture against the walls, leaving the room open and giving you the opportunity to actually interact with your roommate. In addition, this also can make your room look twice as large. What's the worst thing that could possibly happen? If it gets too awkward, you can just put it back the way you found it!
Other small touches that can help:
Flowers - OK, I hate having to upkeep any plant, and flowers are especially likely to die within two seconds when under my not-so-green-thumb. But keeping around flowers made of wood, plastic or another durable material can add a certain happiness to your small space.
Mirrors - As long as you haven't watched too many horror films, mirrors can be great! Not only is it just nice to see more of yourself than those wardrobe mirrors allow (or see yourself, period, if you live in a dorm with closets and no University-supplied mirrors), but mirrors can create the illusion of more space in a room.
Towel hangers - Please get your towels off your nasty floor and hang them on your wall or door. Please.
A bookcase - Certain dorms (such as in the Commons) don't supply shelves for your books. Getting fairly cheap and fun-shaped shelves from Target can add some funk and functionality to your dorm.
