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Dorm Essentials & Tips

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Happy July everyone! I’m currently blogging from Fairbanks, Alaska where August and the Fall 2021 semester are both right around the corner! Since Orientation, move in, and classes are going to be beginning in less than a month I want to share my favorite Dorm Essentials & Tips for those living on campus. 

Starting this fall, I will have had experience living in a total of three different Residence Halls over a period of my (soon to be) five years at ERAU. I’ve lived on campus my entire college experience and I’m here to share my top tips to make your living space feel like home.

My current home away from home includes lots of weekend hikes, here’s my latest adventure!

Since your dorm room will be where you spend a lot of your time, making sure that is a comfortable space where you can do homework, study, and relax at the end of the day is extremely important. Since this list is general, most residence halls allow all of these items, but double check with your housing contract for items more specific to your specific living community. For reference, you may check out ERAU’s Housing and Residence life Community Standards, linked here, where also featured is a FAQ page, a Residence Hall option guide, a Move-In guide, as well as my personal favorites (guides I reference the most) the Approved Cooking Appliances in the Residence Halls list, and ERAU’s streaming service website for television shows and movies available for free here to all on-campus students. 

My dorm essential list includes, first and foremost, stocking up on snacks! Secondly, my favorite part about coming back to my room at the end of a long day is taking a hot shower and setting up my essential oil diffuser! I also love having plants in my room. All rooms have windows that receive some amount of natural light during the day, so I suggest low maintenance plants like succulents or cacti. Another great option is planting a few wildflower seeds in a small pot to brighten your room, or trying some easy to grow herbs such as basil, mint, or chives!

Nonperishable snacks like granola bars, nuts, and apple sauce are great to have on hand during the school year, but right now I am grateful to be able to pick fresh berries to snack on in between my online summer classes!

Another one of my favorite room essentials is a natural light simulating alarm clock. Since I’m in ROTC (or if you have any early morning or late-night flights if you’re studying Aeronautical Science), I highly recommend getting an alarm clock that can sync with your phone, your Alexa Amazon Echo, and simulates sunrise/sunset to help you regulate your sleep schedule. Before PT in the mornings, I am always listening to music on Spotify while I get ready in my room, so being able to auto-play music directly after my alarm goes off makes my morning routine that much simpler.

I also suggest investing in a good pair of headphones! Despite nighttime quiet hours, and quiet hours during finals, living in the Residence Halls can be loud at times and there are definitely moments when I like peace and quiet. The perfect solution I’ve found to this, other than heading to the Quiet Rooms on the second floor of the library to study, are noise canceling headphones! Since music plays such an important role in helping me relax while taking breaks from studying, I use headphones for peace and quiet while I do homework, as well as for high quality music when I’m working out or relaxing.

Keep on keeping on folks, will report back soon!

Summer Endings & New Experiences

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Happy July everyone! I’m currently blogging from Fairbanks, Alaska, savoring the last few weeks of summer and starting to prep for back to school life in the Fall 2021 semester at ERAU-DB.

For me, this means working out on a regular basis, my summer classes coming to an end in the upcoming weeks, and trying to fit in as many fun experiences as possible. With summer classes concluding, this also means more intense studying for finals and post Project GO Arabic language program testing. Some of the moments I’ve been enjoying lately include coffee shop stops, walking to get ice cream around the corner from my house (during particularly hot summer evenings), hiking, picking fresh berries, and cooking!

Fresh raspberries I picked with my family!

Dorm life doesn’t allow for many cooking opportunities, so I’m trying to fit in as many delicious comfort foods as possible before returning to campus. Since I am an avid breakfast (at all times of the day) lover, my favorite fun meal is pancakes for dinner! While in the dorm, microwave pancakes are a quick and fun option, but it’s hard to replace the experience of dancing around a kitchen, making real pancakes with the people you love.

Some dark chocolate (freshly picked) raspberry Kodiak cakes that I made, with almond butter and…maple syrup of course!

A typical school/work day includes balancing my mental/physical health by taking breaks after online classes to stretch/do yoga, workout, go for a walk, or listen to music. In the evenings my favorite activities to unwind are reading, cooking, listening to music/podcasts, or phone calls with family and friends. I am also a big fan of late afternoon naps!

Lately, I’ve had quite a few meetings to prep for upcoming work in Air Force ROTC, Student Court, and Orientation Team. Additionally, I have very much been enjoying a “9:00am-5:00pm” work philosophy. I am most productive during the “work day” then after 5:00pm I reserve time for relaxing and recharging. Since candles aren’t allowed in the dorms, I love enjoying them at home to signify the “end” of a long work day. While more restrictions are being lifted as we come to the end of the height of the pandemic and mask-free is the new normal once again, other countries/states/cities are still experiencing rises in COVID-19 cases… so I am preferring my social activities to take place mostly outdoors in wide open spaces when possible, and spending most of my other time at home.

A recent weekend hike of Summit Trail to Wickersham Dome exploring Alaska!

Over the past year, with quarantining, online courses, and overall lots more time spent at home, I’ve learned the importance of how the space around you can potentially effect you and your mental health more than you realize. Because of this I’ve started making my bed on a regular basis, and feeling more refreshed keeping my living space clean, diffusing essential oils, listening to peaceful music, and (when allowed) opening windows for fresh air, as well as lighting candles.

Keep on keeping on folks, will report back soon!