My room has been a central hub of my college experience. It’s where I received exciting news – acceptances to my majors, or a dream research project – as well as disappointing information – getting waitlisted for a TA position, a bad test score. It’s where I did the majority of my homework (and there was a lot of homework), since I find myself unable to have a productive thought in the libraries and coffee shops where other students tend to congregate. It’s where I discovered new music, finished amazing books, made lasting memories with friends; it’s where I’m writing this very statement.

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I never got around to decorating my room in high school. As the quintessential teenage boy with a lack of self-awareness, I had little interest in decoration nor any proclivities to inform the process. By the time I wanted to personalize my living space, I was already on my way out the door. My college dorm room was the first place that was uniquely mine (and my roommate’s, I suppose, but we had an unspoken division cutting through the center of the room), making it the perfect canvas for my new resolution. On my side, I began to hang up mementos of my life: artwork from my talented friends, pictures I had developed from my film camera, souvenirs from family trips. These pieces moved with me to my first apartment, where they joined with a new lamp, a disco ball, knick-knacks and vinyl inserts. 

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At some point, these items took on a joint quality, a “whole is greater than sum of its parts” quality; they became a visual representation of myself. I’m not sure exactly when this happened, but a glance at my room burgeoning with objects only I could have curated convinces me its true.

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This portfolio is meant to be a reflection on my collegiate journey, but it is also a snapshot of my identity at a crossroads in my life. I’m still not sure where I’ll be after graduation, or what I’ll be doing, but these experiences will shape and define me. My room will change, leaving behind decorations that have reached the end of their lifespan and putting up newly-amassed objects in their stead. For now, though, this is me, and I have decorated my portfolio to match.