A Space of my own

I know something about myself.  It’s something I learned in college.  I need my own space.  Just a little corner that’s all mine, nothing too fancy, nothing too great.  Just a little bit that I can call mine.

I discovered this when I was living in the dorms.  Because when you live in the dorms, no space is your own.  Everything is shared.  The futon.  The fridge.  The air.  Even your bed isn’t a hideaway, because your roommate is either across the loft or above/beneath you. 

My last two years of college, I had an apartment where I had my own bedroom.  It was glorious.  I loved my roommates.  Just today we ran into someone from Purdue, and she and I were chatting about how wonderful my roommates were.  I loved spending time with them, seeing them, sharing life with them.  But I loved them more because I had my own room.  If I needed quiet, I could get it.  If I needed to watch 7 straight hours of Gilmore Girls, I could do it.  And poor Lauren knows that I needed that one often. 

For the past two years, I haven’t had my own space.  I have had a lot of shared space.  And it’s been shared with my very best friend, the man that I love and adore.  But his mark has been as clear as my own.  Our spaces have been gender neutral.  They have been shared.  And sometimes, they have been rough.

Today, for the first time since May of 2007, I have my own space again.

I have my own office.

Well.  Sort of.  It’s also a guest bedroom.  So if someone comes to visit, I will give it to them while they are here. 

But it’s mine.  And I love it.  I have my own desk.  And it is cute.  I have a new chair.  I have a cute lamp.  I have art that is yellow and blue and pink and girly.  I have pictures.  And I have a door.  That I can close.  Soon (like whenever I pick it up and bring it over), I will have a t.v., so that when the Gilmore Girls urge strikes, I can watch without dragging my husband into it (somehow, he thinks that since he’s seen every episode AT LEAST twice, he’s done…weird, I know). 

I will show you my space soon.  It’s not quite finished.  I have a bookshelf and the television to move over.  I need to get some hangers for a few pieces.  And I’m waiting on one last piece of art that won’t arrive until sometime next week.  I would guess by the middle of next week, I’ll be ready to take pictures and show you my little office.  I can’t wait to share it! (I know, it’s a bit ironic.)