The start of a school year is always a thrilling and nerve-racking experience, particularly for freshman and transfer students who have decided to make the transition from home life to residential living.
With over 5,000 undergraduate students at Adelphi University, making this adjustment can be a daunting task. Whether as little as 15 minutes away or as far as 3,000 miles from home, moving into a room other than your own can quickly invoke a feeling of homesickness. Fortunately, decorating a dorm room to make it feel like home is an easy way to solve, at least some, residential life woes.
A typical dorm room during move-in day. Photo courtesy of Leslie Fazin
First-time resident students should create a colorful room, suggests resident assistant Teresa Pisano of Chapman Hall. “Dark colors make a room feel dreary,” she said, emphasizing that this often increases a sense of loneliness. “Color makes a room feel brighter, happier and larger.” Colors such as greens, blues and yellows, which can be found on bed sheets, comforters, pillows, chairs and floor rugs, promote tranquility and happiness in a student’s new living arrangement.
Color isn’t the only way to brighten up a bland dorm room, however. “I’ve found that some people put up posters, some put up quotes and others make collages that include a little piece of everything that they like,” said Joseph Dujmovic, a resident assistant of Linen Hall. “Personally, I have some of my favorite photos framed in my room. Whenever I need a boost of encouragement or a pick-me-up, they always help to make me smile.”
Color and photographs create a cozy feel. Photo courtesy of Leslie Fazin
Danielle Pritchett, a freshman psychology major, agrees. Though her hometown of Manhasset is only 15 minutes away from the Garden City campus, she came to Adelphi to experience the infamous ‘campus life.’ But living in a cramped dorm room that is a far cry from your bedroom at home can make anyone feel homesick, including Pritchett. Her remedy? “I've put up a lot of pictures of my family, which helps remind me of them. I also brought a lot of pillows and stuffed animals from home.”
Author Katherine Olasken, in her book Dorm Room Feng Shui: Find Your Gua - Free Your Chi, suggests that a few feng shui tips, such as room rearrangement, can help with a student’s chi, or flow of energy as well. This simple rearrangement can make a dorm room feel more comfortable and cozy.
But occupying a room with a stranger can also come as a shock and increase homesickness further, even if the room is adorned in photographs, posters and quotes, and rearranged to your liking.
“If the resident is feeling homesick, I encourage them to talk with someone about it; whether they speak with a close friend, their RA or RHD, or with a counselor at the Student Counseling Center,” said Dujmovic. “Chances are, someone else is feeling the same way and will be able to give them some good advice. It’s better to talk it out than to keep all of those uneasy emotions bottled up inside yourself.”
Join a club on campus, visit the Center for Recreation and Sport or apply for an on-campus job. But don't forget, above all else, nothing compares to a call, e-mail, Facebook message or visit from home to ease the college blues.
~Leslie Fazin
Image courtesy of Microsoft Clip Art
