A Room is Really One's Own

The title of Virginia Woolf's work, A Room of One's Own, makes me think of how important a person's room is. I am not just talking about for writing either. Just think back to when you first started to realize who you were and what you were interested in... where did you first begin to express yourself? You're room, usually. My sister and I shared a room growing up, and by the time we reached middle school you could tell just by looking in our room what we were like. My half was clean, everything in its spot with even the bed neatly made. Her side, quite like her, was always a mess with clothes on the floor and piles of papers laying about. It's funny that now I am in school to be an engineer, a job that has been known to attract neat and organized people, while she is in school becoming a writer, still with piles of pages on her floor and post-it notes all over the place. Our room was the place that our personalities first came out. It was the only room in the house where we were allowed to decorate as we wanted (as long as it was appropriate, of course).


I believe it was in that space that we became who we were. We learned what we liked and what we didn't. A room is a special place for a kid. It is that first place that is really theirs. Even as we grow up, a space of our own is important. Think of how much time we spend planning our dorm rooms and collaborating with our roommates hoping to express all of our personalities. That room is important to us. More than I know I realize, because without that room what do I have that is really mine? Sure one day I plan to own a house with many rooms but with pets and families how many of those rooms will really be mine? As we read more about the importance of space for a writer, I think it is important to keep in mind that space is important for everyone not just writers.