Yes. This week, my suitemates and I have started planning for the new school year and basically brainstormed a list of all the essential and absolutely necessary things to bring for sophomore year! So far, our list consists of hair dryers, a coffee machine, a pink fuzzy rug, every Disney movie known to man, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, a hammock chair, and a waffle maker. We’ve clearly sorted out our priorities. I’m actually really excited to be living with close friends this year; it’s going to be like one giant sleepover! I mean, school? What’s that?

Suitemates (and Chipotle!) on The Beach!

In planning for this year, I quickly found everything to become incredibly reminiscent of planning for my freshman year! It was actually around this time (more like mid-July) of last year that I got my roommate and housing information via email. I still remember the excitement of finding out my room number and being very eager to meet and get to know the two randomly selected people that would soon become my roommate and suitemate. We contacted each other right away, finding each other on facebook and posting on each other’s walls within minutes of getting our housing information! Soon, everyone was posting on the 2015 facebook page and looking at the dorm floor plans trying to figure out who their neighbors were. No joke, I think that entire day was spent on the facebook page figuring out who I was living near and friending everyone!

A week later, we started planning for freshman year, brainstorming a list of things to bring, much like what I’m doing right now. And even though I was planning for dorm life with two complete strangers, we were just as excited and enthusiastic as my friends and I currently are!

I even remember some of the brainstormed items! I know there is a lot of decision making involved in deciding what to bring to college, sometimes from multiple parties including yourself, parents/guardians, your roommate, even extended relatives, etc. One of the greatest dilemmas I had last year was deciding whether to bring a fridge or not. I decided against it (which was a mistake) but luckily, my roommate let me share hers! Here are some things from my freshman year list that I strongly recommend getting based on my experience:

• A fan. If you live in the AMRs, a window fan might be convenient. If you live in the Buildings, it would be a good idea to bring a small desk fan for the winter. In my experience living in the Buildings, although it was temperature controlled, sometimes they would heat the buildings way too much in the winter. A fan definitely came in handy! I got the O2 Cool Portable Plus 5″ fan at Bed Bath and Beyond for $10.

• Shower Shoes. There are some really nice fancy ones out there, but I just used flip flops from Old Navy. They are pretty inexpensive as well as waterproof, so they will last the full year!

• A mini-fridge. We used this item on the list the most! My roommate rented a micro-fridge from the school and our suite shared it. If you rent from the school, it’s about $180 for the micro-fridge and about $140 if you want just the fridge. Many people split the cost among suitemates and share a fridge for the whole year. You can also find great deals elsewhere and bring your own!

• A mini vacuum cleaner (along with other cleaning supplies). If you live in the buildings, you don’t have carpeting, so it’s really important to clean the floors frequently since they can quickly gather dust. I got the Dirt Devil Power Air Stick vacuum cleaner from Target at a sale price of $20. I did my shopping in mid-August when a lot of the back-to-school sales take place!

• A Brita Filter water bottle. It’s not absolutely necessary since the tap water is clean and drinkable. In fact, my roommate and suitemate just used a regular water bottle. But if you are super paranoid like yours truly, you might as well invest in a Brita bottle! I got mine at Bed Bath and Beyond for $10.

Of course, there were a million more things on the list; however, these were some of the items on my list that I consider super important. They definitely came in handy throughout the year!

I hope this is somewhat helpful when time comes for you to plan for freshman year! That time is coming up soon, for it’s almost mid-July:) But until then, spend your time watching fireworks, singing patriotic songs, and having a great 4th of July!