If this is your first time at school, it might also be your first time living away from home…. If this is your first time at school, it might also be your first time living away from home. Naturally, you’ve checked all those online lists telling you what you need to bring with you: storage units, linens, Depends. What they don’t tell you on those lists is that everybody is reading it at the same time you are and packing the same stuff you are. If you don’t want your bedroom to resemble every other dorm space in your hallway, here are a few substitutions you can make to your 10-by-8 cell, uh, I mean room, to give it a little flavor and set it apart.

1. Rasterbations instead of posters. Forget the annual poster sales. Sure, it might be a rite of passage, but the massive campus poster sale is also the reason why everyone you know on campus has the same exact Salvador Dali poster hanging over her bed.

Rasterbations allow you to use any image you can find on the Internet or one you’ve uploaded to create an enormous black-dotted poster by blowing up the image to whatever size you choose. Not only is it unique in letting you choose any image you want, but it serves as an interesting cross between posters and wallpaper. Just a few of these printed out will cover any white space in the room, and when it’s time to move out, just tear it all down, no money lost. For those who are feeling motivated, try printing one out in black and white, then coloring in the white space with crayon or colored pencil. If you’re interested in the idea, check it out at homokaasu.org/rasterbator.

2. A hammock instead of a bed. This is a no-brainer, except for the difficulty of figuring out how to actually hang the hammock up, what to do with the bed and how to treat some potential back problems that might develop through a lack of back support during sleep.

Still, a comfortable new hammock can be found online for $50 to $100 and will cut down on wasted room space, which – especially if you live in Towers – is already at a premium. When you need to practice your yoga routine, just roll your hammock up, problem solved. If you and your roommate both agree to hammocks, you’ll have space in which to squeeze a foldable pingpong table.

3. Mood lighting instead of efficiency lighting. Don’t worry about getting a three-pronged twisty lamp that can maneuver around two corners and light up a textbook. There is plenty of time for studying later. As a new student, direct your lighting ambition toward some ambience.

Candles are usually prohibited in dorm rooms, so you’ll have to search elsewhere. Fluorescent black lighting is always guaranteed fun in a box, but the effect will spook some guests who might take offense to the illumination of certain stains on their clothing.

Allow me to recommend lava lamps. Invented by Edward Craven Walker in the 1960s, lava lamps are still used for their soothing and trance-inducing glow. It won’t help you see anything clearer, but stress release is equally important in achieving academic success.

If you still find yourself stuck using the standard ceiling lights in your dorm room, any type of translucent-colored, non-flammable wrapping material will work as a cover over the light, thereby changing the hue of the bulb.

4. Fish instead of a roommate. While short on conversation skills, you’ll find that fish are more agreeable, don’t interrupt very often and will never leave you locked out in the hallway staring at a Scrunchie on the doorknob. Fish don’t tend to blast Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:15 in the morning or eat your brownies when you’re not there. All things told, they make an excellent substitution for roommates. How you drive your roommate off is up to you.

If your attempts fail, however, and you find yourself unable to make the trade-off, keep a few things in mind. With your housing contract, you have essentially signed away any privacy for the next few months, so get it in while you can. Erect a divider of some sort, perhaps a tapestry or sheet that drapes from ceiling to floor. This way, you don’t have to constantly look awkwardly across the room at one another. And if you went with the hammock/pingpong table combination, don’t worry: You can simply pin the tapestry up whenever you want to get a game in.

There you have it: a few easy ways to give your living space some personality. Remember, you’ll probably be stuck there for at least eight months, so make it livable and move big stuff around while there’s still some open space.

Get your Feng Shui on with Brandon at [email protected].