How to make your dorm a safe space
Sadie Beaumont, Staff Photographer
“Motivation strives from mental security,” sophomore marketing major Madison Kavanaugh said.
She believes that by making her room in Unit C feel like her home, she can relax and focus more on relationships and schoolwork. She surrounds herself with pictures of loved ones.
“That makes it homier because I’m kind of bringing them with me,” she said.
Kavanaugh gets homesick easily and having familiar faces in her room helps. One of the most beneficial tips she has is to invite friends that remind you of home to your dorm; it helps with the adjustment.
Junior Christian Studies Amelia Chapman, SLT in the freshman dorm Simpson, said she’s “a big cozy gal.”
It is essential that she has lots of blankets and rugs to make her comfortable. She also has lots of trinkets around her dorm that she’s made herself, such as her Legos and ceramics. These make her dorm more unique and personal to her.
“I like my coffee pot because I can make it for lots of people, and it makes it feel more like a home because I feel like I have something to share,” she said.
Having little additions like these in your room not only make your space more comfortable but also help form a community.
Junior Education Merena Russeau lives in Chinquapin 100. She feels coziest in her room when it is personalized with photos of family and friends. She is very close friends with her roommate, so they can make the space their own together.
Russeau said, “the flags on the wall that are goofy pictures of me and my roommate–it started out as a joke and now we have two of them. It feels very much like our personalities combined into one picture.”
She also adds warm lights to the room so she doesn’t have to use the harsh overhead fluorescents.
“This makes it feel more like a house and not, for lack of a better word, a prison,” she said.
Laurel Cravens, a freshman theatre education major, has one specific thing that makes her Trustees dorm room feel like home: her gnome.
She said, “I have a gnome on the top of my closet that my grandma gave me. Every time I look at it, I think of my grandma.”
This brings her comfort and security in her room and makes her feel closer to her family. She also spruces the room up by adding plants. Adding your favorite kinds of décor and bringing sentimental items into your room can make a drastic difference.
She was excited when she was assigned a room where the bed is between the wall and the closet.
“It feels more like a safe spot,” Cravens said.
