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Jake,
You sound really, really sheltered. Are you sure you'll be ok in college? Cheap DVD players (like a Coby, which is an older, generic brand) are extremely unlikely to last you 5 years. Most of them will die in 6 months. In a few years, even Sony will have players under $50, so there's no shame in going cheap now, especially with a smaller, non-HDTV. Also, if they really switch over to digital next year, you'll have an issue with TV watching, so you'll have to invest in a converter on top of that. I think the widescreen monitor idea is best.
From the sound of it, you haven't spent much time in the outside world, so if you're living in a dorm, everything will come as a complete shock. Have your parents never allowed you to have a job? You seem both mature in your writing and so naive as to be revolutionary, like a fictional character who seemed designed by a overprotective soccer mom makes her child live in a bubble, not because he's sick, but because she wants to make sure he never falls down and cuts or bruises himself. I was actually stunned to read that you'd seen "There Will Be Blood," an R rated movie. You're nearly 20, and it seems you haven't been given the opportunity to learn the most important lessons in adolescence and your teenage years, namely that in order to gain knowledge, you must be allowed to screw it up first. Making mistakes when there's little at stake is key to not doing it when you have kids and a mortgage, when it really counts. The other thing is, people, in general are selfish and lazy. This, in turn, makes them take advantage of others, and you'd be the number one candidate for their sloth-like wrath if you're this sincere and nice. There's a fine line between being a genuinely nice guy and a complete pussy, who everyone walks all over, and that line is going to be repeatedly trampled while you're in college.
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