Photos By: Courtney Askin

     A person's bedroom is one of the most important spaces in their life. It is where they spend every night, get to relax, and just be themselves. It doesn't matter what you look like or what you are doing. It is your very own space. While my bedroom is definitely up there as one of the most important things in my life, its what is on my walls that is more important. 

    For about six years now, I have been putting up photos one by one onto my walls. What started as a little section, quickly turned in a whole covered wall, and in the blink of an eye, my entire room was covered top to bottom. Every inch of wall space is covered in brightly colored images of my friends, family, pets, sunsets, and almost everything I love. These pictures serve as way more than decorations, they represent who I am. As your eyes glance from one picture to the next, you watch me grow up, develop, and become who I am today. People come into my room all the time and ask "How do you focus in here??" or "It feels like your room is screaming at me." But in fact, I feel the exact opposite. The pictures bring me peace, happiness, and reminders of my best memories. I could spend hours reminiscing at each unique photo, laughing, smiling, and just feeling joy.  

    When people first come into my room, one of my favorite things to do is show them all the photos that they are in. We talk on end about that trip down the shore, that day after practice, or that time we all stayed up so late we saw the sunrise. It brings my friends and I closer being able to reflect on the past. 

    Another frequently asked question I get is what happens if I stop being friends with someone. Do I take their pictures down? Do I cover them up? My answer for this question is almost always no. Drama is a huge part of high school, and I know that when I am putting up a selfie I took with one of my good friends at the time, there is a chance we might get into a fight. But, I have come to realize I still love thinking about past times I had with them. Just because they did that thing that one time, doesn't take away how much fun we had together. I have pictures of friends from sixth grade who I haven't talked to in years still hanging up. While we may not still talk about the time we went thrifting and took pictures in the silliest outfits we could find, its still something I like to look back on and laugh at. It is part of who I am, and even if I take the picture down, the memories are still there. 

    My room is one of my favorite places in the world because it's a living photo album.