No, really this time. This isn't a dorm hacks list or one of those cliche lists. This is the really real thing that you really probably didn't think of before heading to school.

1. Your Pillow Situation

Yes, I know. You have a favorite pillow. You bring it EVERYWHERE. Vacations, road trips, weekend sleepovers, and college. You don't need to do that, though. To make things easier for going home, especially if you live over three hours away, you should have pillows for home and then other pillows for school.

Because just think, if you're going home for Christmas and have to ride with someone else, you don't want to have that "one last thing" that's a big stuffy pillow. I'd invest in a nice neck pillow for the car and plane trips between school and home.

2. Thieves

You might have thought of this one already, but you probably didn't think about one of these. A lot of colleges have dressers and wardrobes with latches you can put a lock on, but some of those cabinets are so cheap that you can just pull the door open.

Get one of these and nestle it into your books. You can put your passport, Social Security card, money, and even valuables like jewelry that you wouldn't want your roommate or others to find. Nobody will ever suspect a thing, just don't open it in front of them.

3. Building-Wide A/C Controls

If your college dorm is anything like mine, you won't have control over the temperature in your room. You'll only have a dial that says "Warmer" or "Cooler" so that you can adjust the temp in the chosen range for that season.

My roommate and I love sleeping under a bunch of blankets in a freezing room, but we couldn't do that anymore when they turned on the heat for winter. It got SO hot in the room. She ended up buying a fan when the A/C was broken in the summertime and it ended up being a life (and sleep) saver for us during the winter. We had no idea it would be that hot.

4. Lukewarm Showers

If you're like me, you love scorching hot showers and baths. The thing is, though, that you won't always have that luxury in college, especially if you have a communal bath.

Start training yourself to have lukewarm showers at home before you head to school so that when the inevitable happens and the hot water starts to dwindle, it won't ruin your day quite as bad. It's really not healthy to take scorching hot showers, anyways, I must admit.

5. Dorm Shoes

Shower shoes are a must for college and they're usually one of the first things everyone gets when they start dorm shopping. What you don't think of is that you'll need something to walk around the dorm with. You don't want to be barefoot and you really don't want to be barefoot in the bathroom.

I brought an old pair of bedroom slippers with me to school and they have become my new favorite thing. I slip them on to go anywhere in the building and they come in handy around exam time when you want to stay comfy the whole time.

These are just a few things that I really didn't expect to need before coming to college. Every college is different along with every experience, but after living in an all girls' dorm with a communal bath, I figured I knew better than most of the situations you can face your freshman year.