I imagine you are starting to feel some anxiety about move-in day; you have your checklist from Nazareth and you’ve made arrangements with your roommate about who’s bringing the TV, mini-fridge, speakers, and coffee maker. You are also completely ready with your absolute essentials: bedding, laptop, clothes, notebooks, surge protector, yada-yada you know what’s needed. But do you have your non-essential essentials? Do you have posters, flags, Christmas lights, mattress pad, robe, Febreze, and a beanbag chair? Let me explain one by one why you need these just as much as we need Rick Moranis to return to acting.
Posters: It’s day one and you’ve moved all your stuff into your room and finished organizing your side. Now it’s time to start placing posters on your wall. You will need some sort of adhesive; if you’re desperate you can use toothpaste but simple cheap poster putty should work fine and you’ll be able to save your precise mouth paste. These posters are something more than just pictures that help create a home environment, but when everybody in your building starts milling around they’ll be looking into rooms to see if anybody is around to say “howdy partner” to. When they do, they’ll notice the poster and this simple piece of paper can have an impact you did not anticipate. “Wow, you like Batman? I love Batman!”(friends), “Wow, you like cars? I love cars!” (friends), “Wow, you like weird posters of Lady Gaga? Me too!” (friends).
Flags: Flags are the same concept as posters; give a country some love if it’s an American flag, Canadian flag, Ethiopian flag or whatever. Your flag could be historical or even sports related, either way I strongly recommend a flag which could also substitute as a sweet cape come Halloween. “Wow, you have a Union Jack? I love England!” (friends).
Christmas Lights: Christmas lights could be any strands of lights, and these decorations are all about giving your room at cool vibe. The light fixtures in the room give two options: having your room extremely bright or dark. Now your windows could give you a happy medium during the day but come nighttime the desperation will mount. Plug some of these guys in and not only do you become festive, but stylin’.
Mattress Pad: Let’s get this straight immediately, your bed at school will not be as comfy as your bed at home. It’s time you face the truth, you’ve been pampered at home and if you slept directly on a twin mattress without any cushion you’ll be complaining like you’ve slept on a Roman Empire era bed stuffed with reeds. Now it’s certainly not that bad, but you can never underestimate sleeping on something comfortable.
Robe: Never overlook the value of the robe. It’s time for bed and you’re already in your skivvies but need to walk to the bathroom to brush your teeth, it’s cold in your room and you don’t feel like ripping the blanket off your bed and you don’t own a snuggie, someone asks you a deep, thought-provoking question and you need the proper attire to look smart in answering. These are just a few examples why you really need to bring at least one robe to school.
Febreze: You may or may not need this, but it’s a risk I wouldn’t recommend taking.
Beanbag Chair: Any sort of comfy chair will do, it’s simply an alternative to your desk chair. This chair will become your “Ugh, I need five minutes to relax” space. Never underestimate a place to sit in absolute comfort, and when combined with a nice robe and cup of tea, you could find yourself entering nirvana.
Well that about wraps up the non-essential essentials, I hope you will now bring a few important amenities that you truly can live without but shouldn’t. – Anthony Gay