I’d never given much thought to what it takes to feel at home. Truly, I’d never really been the kind of person who was into interior decoration. Even my room at my parent’s house has very little on the walls: a couple small posters and a few plaques are all the personality that decorates my room.
When I came to college, I didn’t bring anything to decorate my walls because there didn’t seem to be any point. I wasn’t about to forget my interests, my friends or family, and I wasn’t about to take the time to make my own wall attachments when really the most important thing to me here was my education. I left my wall blank. For months I had absolutely no problem with it, until my sister finally gifted me a large poster and some lights and told me, “You’re putting them up!” So I did as I was told and I have to say, I really like it.
I won’t ever personally admit it to my sister, but it got me thinking about how the lack of personalization in both of my rooms has affected me without my realizing. To personalize your room is to place yourself in a position others can easily read from; it takes a certain amount of confidence and self-security to place not only your personality, but your attitude and interests on a wall for everyone to see. For many people that can be done without a second thought, for others it’s a bit more difficult. To those who tread a bit more careful than the rest, I say this: Your room is one of the most private spaces that you have, and you should certainly be able to say what you want in it without worry.
I have neglected to decorate my room for too many years, but putting up my new decorations gave me a different perspective on the whole idea. Myself being a very expressive person (meaning I have multiple outlets through which to express myself), I was super excited to have something on my wall that completely nailed a large part of who I was. It was a way of telling people something without having to say it. While this concept probably seems obvious, it still took putting a poster up to make me understand.
Yes, I have a freak flag, it’s purple and I don’t care if people see it. I think that everyone should be able to feel this way. We shouldn’t have to hide who we are in our own rooms, that’s where we should be the most free! Walking into my room you can see that I love kids, because I have a poster of first graders who wrote, “Thank you Miss Malyssa” on it.
I can only imagine, that after hearing me prattle on about it, you must be thinking about your own room. What does it look like? I can’t help but encourage you to consider personalizing it – if you haven’t already. It can make you feel more comfortable and at ease when your personal space is a place of expression. Your room should be an extension of your personality where you can show off whatever you want and be whoever you want. So be yourself when you’re there, even if it’s the only place you can be you. And remember, nobody really has to like your room except you, that’s the beauty of it.