As I’m typing away this story on my computer, the gentle sunlight from my windows casts a warm glow onto my The Hot Licks tour and Betty Boop-referenced Boopsi Cola posters hanging above my desk.
Lively jazz music is playing in the background with a gentle hum of my fan whirring at its highest setting to compensate for the lack of air conditioning in my room.
Here, I find my sanctuary.
For the majority of my life, I’ve shared a room with my sister. It was not bad at first, but with each passing year, our very different personalities clashed progressively.
In 2021, I was fortunate enough to obtain my very own room.
With a twist, of course.
Originally, I got the bigger room. My sister was fine with it at first, until a year later, she decided she wanted it instead. During my very short lived life with the room, I poured my heart and soul into creating a photo wall for it, performed a two-hour deep cleaning session and purchased an expensive lamp that took me three months to pay for.
Despite 13-year-old me angry and furious, I was forced to oblige with her request to switch rooms.
Although it was a week-long cleaning and moving process, switching rooms turned out to be a blessing in disguise. My furniture fit seamlessly within the crevices of my new room. My night lamp, once confined to only lighting a portion of my old room, now bathed my entire new room in a soft, comforting light.
From then, I’ve managed to fill every inch of my wall and available space with artworks, posters, souvenirs, gifts, fake flowers and books. This room became my canvas for self-expression, a refuge where I often found solace and introspection—a place of my own.
In this very room, I’ve spent countless hours on schoolwork, putting on makeup every morning, laying on the carpet after a particularly exasperating day and displaying all my most beloved items.
This Thanksgiving, as silly as it may be, I am giving thanks to my room. Thank you for giving me a place to seek solidarity, serving as a museum for my memories and a place for me to be myself.
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