Must-Haves For A Boarding College Student

Let's pretend that the world is normal where classes are being held at school and that we aren't stressing out over our sh*tty internet/data connections.

Boarding life is hard when you don't have the essential things especially the ones that are in your home. Considering that we are far away from our home, we just want to bring with us the things we are going to be needing.

What are the things a boarding college student should have?

• Electronic device/Gadgets

• Appliances

• Finance

• Attitude

Let me discuss with you one-by-one these essential things based on their categories and let me share my thoughts and how they helped me.

GADGETS - These are essentials in studying.

These are the gadgets that a boarding college student should have:

• Cellphone/ Tablet

A cellphone is a flexible gadget that one should have. It can be used in a lot of ways such as communicating, studying, fitness, watching movies, playing music, and many more.

Communicating. Being away from home we need this to communicate with our loved ones. Considering that you are away from home, this is the only way rather most convenient way of updating your loved ones about your well-being.

Studying. For a student who doesn't have an access to a laptop, a cellphone is the best substitute for it since there are also apps that function similar to a laptop.

Even before, chat groups are created for updates and announcements. One can communicate with other students by just sending messages. A cellphone can also be used in photography class, filming school videos, as a substitute for a laptop, and submitting files over the net.

Fitness. Personally, I used my phone to watch fitness videos on the internet that helps me during a workout. I also used it to play music while I go for an afternoon jog.

Watching movies/ playing music. A cellphone is the handiest gadget that one can use to watch movies and play music. One great way of releasing stress and chilling out is by watching movies and listening to music. It separates us from the busy reality.

• Laptop

A laptop is a gadget that not everyone can own because of their life status. I don't own any and I only borrow from my cousin throughout the time that we were still boarding.

I usually use a laptop whenever I am doing academic writings, editing videos, and printings. By far, it wasn't essential but it is a need for some reason.

• Printer

As a med student, having a printer is a blessing. It saved me a lot of money since I have a lot of handouts that I print out. And it saves a lot of time than going outside of the dorm just to have a handout printed. I shared the printer with my cousin, he was the one who owns it and I provide the inks. It's super helpful and a money saver since computer shops tend to put a higher price for every page.

APPLIANCES

• Electric Kettle

This is one of the appliances that we used daily. It can be used in a lot of ways and not just heating water in it. Some of us used this to cooked noodles and sometimes boil some eggs. hahaha. But as for me, I just purely use it to heat water. I was even asked by my board mate how I make pancit canton, I told him that I just put water in a bowl and put the noodles and then cover it with a plate. I just have to use what is available. HAHAHAHA.

• Rice Cooker

This is also one of the versatile appliances out there. It can be used to cook rice, boil eggs, fry foods, and even cook ginataan in it. My board mate tried it and just imagine her electric bill after that. HAHAHAHA. Kidding aside, it saved me a lot of money since I cook my own rice rather than buying one cup of rice for 10 pesos. Having a rice cooker means no dieting to rice.

Quick story. I went with my board mates to McDonald's and we brought our rice cooker. The look on my cousin's face was hilarious hahaha. He was too embarrassed. There were even ants on the rice. Good thing is that we weren't scolded by the staff. HAHAHAHAHA.

• Oven Toaster

I am a picky eater and I don't eat leftover foods that aren't hot. It just feels different. Fortunately, we have a spare oven toaster here in the house that I brought with me. We didn't have to worry about our snacks, viands, and re-heating our leftover foods because of this. I even tried cooking egg and corned beef using it but, the egg was dried up and the corned beef turned out good.

Finance

• ATM CARD/E-Wallet

I suggest that you should have your personal bank card or set up an E-wallet. Why? It is very convenient especially that you're away from home. Before I went to college my mom assured me that I already have a bank card so that she can just send me money through bank transfer. It was helpful because there were times that I wasn't able to go home for weeks.

Bank Card or E-Wallet? I prefer bank cards over E-Wallet because there are ATMs all over the malls, schools, and other establishments rather than E-wallet cashout centers.

Lastly...Attitude

Having a good attitude is a must, it will lead to having a good relationship with your landlady and board mates. They are the ones that you can lean on when something bad happens. They are going to be your family, your alarm clock when you have to take a power nap, and most importantly they are YOUR HOME AWAY FROM HOME.

Let me share my boarding house moments with my found family. During my stay, I study together with my board mates, eat out together, go to the malls, drink, have outings, and many more. It was such a lovely experience for me.

Final thoughts.

These are just the things that helped me out during my stay in my boarding house. Since some of you here are freshmen, you can consider having these when you decide to stay in a dorm. I hope this will help you.

P.S. I didn't include the electric fan because it's already given or one always has it.

Author's Note:

It was reported today that the Philippines has exceeded its 20,000 tally mark of COVID-19 cases. I hope you are all safe and healthy.

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