By Jordan Freels –

Feel like your dorm room is bland or boring? Do not fret; you can spruce up your home away from home by bringing in items and important necessities that will make your college years more enjoyable. Freshman, Brandon Littlepage, 21 years old, Business Major from Magnolia designed his room to fit his Black and Japanese heritage.

While shopping for the school year Brandon bought the essentials he needed. A typical bed set, which included other necessary bedding, cost around $60. All in all, his shopping spree cost more than $200.00. The few posters he has displayed on his wall are ones that could be found at any local Wal-Mart, or Target, many which reflect the loving hobby he has of playing video games. One poster that is special to him is his Kratos Poster, a character from the video game God of War. There were only a few copies of the poster printed, and Brandon happened to be working at a GameStop when he snagged his copy. One of Brandon’s prized possessions is his custom made Arcade Stick which cost $270. This special game controller has a 4-gate feature, which allows Brandon’s gaming to run smoother because a computer screen can pick up clicks of a button faster than a regular television. Brandon designed the Arcade Stick on the computer, but when the controller was shipped to him it had a dull grey and black face. He changed it by adding a few characters he admired, and also switched out the older sandwa buttons to samitsu buttons, which allows whatever game, preferably Street Fighter, to run smoother. Not only does this Arcade Stick have special buttons, but his video-game screen name is etched on the plexi-glass case he has on top of it.

Brandon and ten of his home-town friends compete in tournaments every four to five months to play video games with other gamers. D.E.S., or Don’t Ever Stop, the team name Brandon and his friends came up with also host their own tournaments, and frequently practice on “Body Shop Saturdays.”

Brandon explains the meaning behind Body Shop Saturdays. “Today’s youth calls being “bodied” as a different term to replace ‘losing’ something, so when fellow competitors play against DES they are unaware of DES’ skills are ‘bodied,’ once the game has ended.

When asked how Brandon decided to decorate his room, he replied, “Well, it was pretty simple. I picked a color scheme. My favorite colors of course [are] red and black. [I also] wanted to mix in Asian culture.”

Because Brandon incorporated an Asian theme on his side, he decided to go for a modern day ‘”Tokyo”-styled theme. It is not just the posters on his wall that reflect the theme he wanted to display, but also a Chinese Bell window charm which has a small plaque that says success on top of it. Brandon’s side of the room compares and contrasts to his roommate. Brandon’s roommates color scheme is blue-themed.

Brandon says, “Red and Blue are perfect opposites. These colors are the most common competitive colors.”

Brandon and his roommate were able to make their room one, without even realizing it, by having items such as posters on either side, that connect to both color schemes. Even something as trivial as Brandon’s closet connects to his color scheme with red hangers to hang his things; everything is organized by the particular item, i.e. scarves, shirts, shorts, and shoes on the bottom. Each individual’s side reflects who they are, and being that Brandon is a gamer and incorporated his Asian background he made his room fit his style.

Freshman, Mei Ling Wu, 18 years old, Photograph Major, from Bogota has a different snap shot to how her room is designed. Mei Ling said, “When I first realized that I was going to dorm, it was a more of a ‘do everything myself’ kind of thing because my mother never agreed with dorming, but the situation in which we were living called for it. During the first two weeks, I was trying to find some cash for my essential necessities for my room—I kind of had an idea of the major things I needed. I still need more stuff, and the job I have is a very limited part time, I have to get all my things slowly, yet as fast as possible.’

Mei Ling said that once her and her roommate got acquainted they re-arranged their room to best suit them. Mei Ling has her room set up where she is able to have more privacy, and while it is not only for her own comfort, this arrangement was also done for any future guests that may visit herself or her roommate.

Mei Ling is an individual, who gives off positive energy and says, “I like being around people, most importantly helping them. I’ve learned that sometimes going out of my way to help someone makes my heart smile.”

She says, “I initially wanted to fill my walls with my artwork, but wasn’t able to do so because of lack of materials.”

Her warm-hearted spirit can be displayed on the wall in her room. Mei Ling has drawn a picture which reads, ‘Liebe’ and it means love in German. Her drawing was created in her 2D design class last semester. Above the drawing is a picture of her grandfather, herself, and her mother,

“Two people that mean the most to me, [which is] the reason why they’re above the painting,” says Mei Ling.

The ‘Liebe’ piece was not meant to be drawn in a two point perspective, but before it was hung it was tweaked a bit so it now resembles a 3D portrait. She also has another portrait from the same class which displays vertical lines; it sits between her two windows. Also below the painting is a picture of Mei Ling’s niece who is now two-years-old.

While Brandon designed his room to incorporate his culture and love of games, Mei-Ling chose to include drawings and pictures of loved ones. No matter how one designs their room, they should feel proud as these two residents do because they made this room their own. They are comfortable with the set up because it reflects who they are as an individual.