Even with nine years of sleep-away camp experience under her belt, Molly Chodos of Marlboro, New Jersey, said she couldn’t help but feel “nervous” about the 800 miles separating her from her loved ones. To compensate, she decided to hang a photo collage of friends and family above her bed, complete with fairy lights.
“A dorm can feel like a jail cell, but if you really try and decorate it with something as simple as pictures, it could make all the difference,” Chodos said. “It’s like (my home friends) are a piece of me while I’m here.”
Eva Berkson of Brookline, Massachusetts, also put together a photo collage. But she hung hers above her desk as motivation through late nights of writing and ACT prep.
“Whenever I’m working, I just look up, and it makes me feel happy,” she said.
Other cherubs, like Kai Shah of Burlingame, California, opted for stuffed animals. He said he brought along Sam, a stuffed dog he’s had for 11 years.
“He provides a certain level of comfort and a taste of home,” Shah said. “He definitely warms my heart.”
Like Shah, Leo Beirne of New York tossed a stuffed lion into his suitcase at the last minute. The lion — which Beirne said he’s had since birth — has now become a dorm room staple for him and his roommate.
“Mementos can take many forms. For me, it was a stuffed animal. But it could be a picture of your home or of your family,” Beirne said. “But it’s definitely great to have a piece of your world back home to bring with you and to remind you where you came from.”
