Then I wrote about a far away place, but for this post I decided to focus a little closer to home. When thinking of my favorite places, I had a hard time thinking of a place I love that represents home. Oklahoma isn't a horrible place, but I love it for the people. There was truly only one place that represents home for me that is not made great by people. And that's my reading window from my childhood bedroom.
My family moved when I was in second grade and my parents took me and my brother to see the new house and chose our bedrooms. When I walked into my future room and saw the window, I knew I wanted it. I large window seat, I imagined filling it with pillows and reading. I imagined staring out the window when I was upset. I imagined being in high school and boy coming to throw rocks at my window like I had seen in movies (still a little bitter this never happened). So I called dibs and my aunts painted all the walls purple (my favorite color) for me. My grandma bought me a cushion and sewed black fabric with white swirls onto it. I filled it with pillows and blankets and stuffed animals.
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| Source: Wikimedia |
As a kid, I stayed busy with sports, activities, homework, and jobs. But from second grade to twelfth, a perfect day was when I found a great book and got to spend all day reading in that reading nook. I could look out my second story window to a beautiful blue Oklahoma sky. I cried in that window seat, I laughed. Sometimes it would sit unused for months, which made it all the more special when I climbed in again.
This past summer, I was finally asked to relinquish my bedroom to my younger brother. The cushion my grandma had made for me was taken out and a flat screen TV was put in. The purple walls were painted over in gray. It would never be mine again. I am grateful for the ten years I had full of reading past midnight, watching the rain fall outside, and dreaming of far away places from the safety of my own home.
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| Me just before my purple walls were painted over. Source: personal photo |
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What a great idea for a post, Jillian! I had a reading place like that, but it was a weird one: we lived in Tucson when I was little, and there was a huge drain pipe in the desert wash that ran near our house, so I would go and sit in the shade of that big drain pipe (I was only a little kid, so it seemed bit to me; I guess it was 4 feet in diameter?) and read all afternoon every day after school. I should have painted it purple to mark it as my own, ha ha. Anyway, I hope this class will be a chance for you to connect with new books and writers; over the break, I read Kavita Kane's book "Sita's Sister" and absolutely loved it; there are lots of contemporary Indian novels based on the epic themes. Very exciting I think! :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Laura! This is a great post. I think that finding a place that holds what you love and who you are is so special, and it deserves its claim as your favorite place! I hope that you always keep a nook or window seat in your home so that you can get away from the stresses of the real world and get lost in a book. Oklahoma has been my home for 22 years, but you're right, it's not THAT special, but the people make it what it is!
ReplyDeleteHi Jill! I took mythology and folklore last semester too and remember reading your Eiffel Tower blog post! I’m glad that you decided to share another favorite place. I absolutely love how you decked out your seat at the window with pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals. It sounds so relaxing; I definitely would want a place like that in my room.
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