I have long heard the sentiment that ‘the space reflects the mind’. My mom used to tell me that in high school. when you couldn’t see an inch of my carpet, and when it was clean but looked like a prison cell. We moved before my senior year of high school, and I never decorated my walls (on one hand, I am glad, because the decor I chose reeked of 2020—cow print bedding, tarot card tapestries, Monster Energy can garland, you get the picture). In essence, I had no personal style, so I put decorating on pause while I figured it out.
I remember going to one of my friends’ houses and seeing that she had an entire room filled with stuff for her dorm.Contrastly when I was moving into my own dorm for the first time, it only took two trips with the housing cart to move all of my stuff, and one of those was just for clothes. There's this stereotype that everyone overpacks for their first year of college, but I only bought the things that I absolutely needed, like Twin XL sheets, shower shoes, and a Brita.
I had already been commuting for a semester, so while I was excited for dorm life and being on campus, moving into the dorms during the spring semester didn’t seem like that much of an ordeal. My random roommate had been living there during the fall, and our room didn’t feel like mine. When I first opened the door, I was greeted by creepy dolls, mess everywhere, and her stuff in every piece of furniture that was to be mine. I knew I could never have anyone over, but I printed some pictures from FedEx to decorate my walls, in the hopes that it would get me through the next few months.
Later, I found my first apartment on Facebook, and it met the one criterion I had: cheap rent. The apartment was in the farthest part of South Oakland from campus, and, as I came to find out, there was a mouse infestation. Since there were already 3 roommates living there, I got the shoebox room with no closet and popcorn walls. So, I didn't make that space my own.
We moved into a new apartment this year, and I finally felt compelled to spend the money on real posters (really, why does a piece of thick paper cost so much?) and show off all the treasures I’ve been collecting over the past few years of college. There were a lot of things I cheaped out on, and I am constantly reminded of it—when my fabric dresser drawers collapse, when I put weight on my desk chair and almost fall backwards, when I move a muscle in my bed and the entire frame creaks—but decorating my room has made me feel so much more at home.
Just as I’m starting to feel comfortable in my apartment, I find out that my lease will be cut three months short because the apartment is being demolished for new student apartments. The fun summer with my roommates before we all go our separate ways will be cut short,
By the time I graduate next semester, I will have lived in six different places while completing my degree. I’m excited for a new year in a new apartment (goodbye South O!), but, even more, I look forward to the day when I get to live somewhere for more than a year at a time. Moving
makes it hard to decorate—knowing everything will have to come down as soon as it goes up—but decorating adds a bit of stability during these times of uncertainty. It might be a while before I am ready to invest in quality furniture or frame something on my wall, but decorating does feel a bit like creating my own art exhibit, and I’m just moving on to the next gallery.
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