My Room

My room at home is a yellow box. We are moving within the next few months, but it has been this way for quite some time now. Most of the trinkets that added personality to my room are with me at college. The remaining knick-knacks were packed up long ago and now reside in a box that gathers dust in my basement. The walls that once showcased autographed jerseys and sports panoramas are now bare. Random nail heads sprinkled around the room are the only indication that these walls once displayed an impressive collection of sport memorabilia.

There are only two pieces of furniture in my room, my bed and desk, each on opposite walls. A wall of windows facing the driveway give the room a natural glow that bounces off the hardwood floors. For a room with excessive blandness, you’d be surprised how elaborate my bed is. It received a major overhaul during my first semester in college. I left it a blank slab covered only in a white fitted sheet and a navy down comforter. I came home to a bed that was half covered in white fluffy pillows of all sizes, the majority of which I didn’t even use to sleep. They got kicked around my floor for the remainder of my stay at home. A blue comforter with a faded geometric pattern could barely be spotted beneath the mound of pillows and the throw blanket. It may not have been easy to spot but oh boy is it soft. It’s like sleeping on a bed of moisturizer. I didn’t mind the overhaul so much after I discovered the absurd thread count of my new sheets either.

Not so much can be said about my desk, conversely. All that rests on the dark brown woods is a chrome mechanical lamp that isn’t even plugged in. Situated on the back left corner, the lamp looks strangely lonely on the ornate box. My desk is an antique, or so my mother says. It has been passed down for generations in our family, and is where she sat and did her work.

It is an odd feeling to leave for school and return home to a place that doesn’t feel as familiar as it has your entire life. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting this when I left for college, not at all. Perhaps change doesn’t seem as sudden when you witness it every day. It moves slower and isn’t detected as easily when it takes place gradually over time. A year absence can see serious change, as evidenced by my bed. Aside from this, little else has been altered in my yellow box, but it doesn’t feel as welcoming as it always has, and I'm not sure if it ever will.