Free Write Every Day: Day #5

Saturday February 25 10:00am


Today my plan is to spend all day with my sisters and then various friends as we set up the party for "Rah", my middle sister.  Her birthday is tomorrow and that is the reason I traveled up to northern Virginia to see the family.  For the last three years I have been able to do this and I definitely enjoy the short-lived breath of fresh air I can get outside of Richmond and away from the law school.  Unfortunately, my obligations follow me up here, and do not cease to exist but at least I have plenty to motivate and distract me up here.  My other sister does get a little bit jealous and she has let me know how bummed she is that I am not able to make it up for her birthday.  Unfortunately hers is in late April during exam-study-crunch time and I can’t quite justify leaving everything to travel home at that stage in the game.

The odd thing about this particular trip is that my parents have just about finished the process of renovating the kitchen/family room and other parts of the main floor.  This means all of the furniture that normally adorns the foyer, living room, dining room, kitchen/family room space has been moved into storage.  Lamps, tables, couches, chairs, pots, pans, bowls, shelves, and plenty of boxes fill our garage, our neighbors garage, and the upstairs.  This includes my old bedroom, which as I am the daughter living furthest from home and least likely to visit during the renovation meant that it is full to the brim. I actually ended up staying in Rah’s room, which was perfectly fine as her bed is a double, where as mine is merely a twin.  


This made me think about the ways the places we sleep can become a reflection of who we are. We decorate them according to our tastes and convenience yet they themselves can shape our thoughts, moods and emotions. For example the room where I grew up has plenty of decorations, images, and leftover crumbs from the time spent there, while the hotel room I stayed at for two nights last summer had maybe a dirty towel and some trash to witness my presence after I left.  these rooms themselves can shape our thoughts, moods and emotions.  I sleep most of my nights these days at a room in a house in richmond, posters, hats, and Christmas lights adorn the walls, displaying parts of me, but even still, it is not “mine.”