What You Actually Need For Your Freshman Year

I wasn’t really sure what I would actually need while coming to college. Over the past year, I’ve learned a lot and made a lot of mistakes, and here I am to tell them to you. I bought a lot, and boy do I mean a lot, of unnecessary things. There were also things that I wish I purchased, as they would have made my life 20x easier.

1. Phone Insurance
Sometimes, you wash your phone along with your bedspread. Trust me, it happens. Having a phone is pretty much a necessity when you’re away from your parents, and being without one is kind of hard, especially when pulling out your laptop to find the time is inconvenient.

2. Paper Plates/Forks/Knives/Spoons/etc.
You’re not always going to want to do your dishes. Trust me, there’s a whole lot of other stuff that you’re going to be busy with, and taking time out of your day to do dishes is not top priority when you have a six page paper and a test to study for.

3. A Fan
Even though here at Loyola some dorms have an AC system which you can adjust, some don’t. It can get really hot in the rooms, and if you’re anything like me, that can be awful. Buy a fan, however large or small, and if anything it’ll be there for some noise.

4. Headphones. Lots.
The WORST thing ever is when you’re on the CTA or the shuttle and you forgot your headphones. Oftentimes you won’t take the same shuttle as your friends, and will have to ride alone, which can be boring and long. You’ll want headphones. Stock up on them, as if there’s one thing I’ve really realized during college it is how easily headphones break.