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Home.

October 11, 2019
By arwenharris BRONZE, Austin, Texas
arwenharris BRONZE, Austin, Texas
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Home.


Home. When I think of home I think of the place I am most comfortable: my room.  It looked a lot different than it does now, but it was a centering place for me. With soft white walls, a prickly popcorn ceiling, and a light beige carpet.  On a spring day, the window let in slivers of natural light, the AC on a low hum letting a stream of air into my room. On the right side of the square room, a white wood crib covered in quilts and stuffed animals.  On the opposite wall near the door, bunk beds painted a soft pink, green and white with matching covers decorated with flowers all ruffled up. These were no normal bunk beds but a miniature version for my doll’s nap time.  On the far wall next to the bunk beds a small plastic bright green and purple Little Tikes© desk. Passed down from my sister and after me a brother I am not aware of yet, the table covered in Crayola©️ markers and crayons, blank paper that had been drawing on with various childish ideas. On the far wall, quite a ways away from the desk was an air purifier, off for now. And my mom in her bedroom calling out every once in a while: “Are you doing okay!?̈”, while making her bed. 

“Fine!”,I’d shout while wondering why is she so worried?

This room is intertwined with so many memories. Those of a little girl just learning to walk ato a toddler with a newfound curiosity for animals and nature, to now a big girl trying to learn life and all its paths.  

No matter the journey I always came back to this place. When I was feeling low I cried, when feeling happy I danced and laughed all around the room.  I have a constant nostalgia for times like those: careless and free.  

I know now that the world is not what I thought, although I still want to believe it is. Now full of hardships and brokenness, I long for that room to center me to keep me happy and innocent, to keep me from the pain.  It is the same room now, but different; it doesn't remind me, it doesn‘t center me anymore like it should. Could it be because the room has changed since then? The carpet is a dark gray-brown, the whole house renovated so its memories are lost with it, the ceiling is flat like a plateau and not like popcorn ready to burst.  A weird haze, a type of grayish cloud lingers over the entire room unlike the white sunny gleam from the past.  

In this stage of my life with all the hustling and bustling from swim to school to swim again to finally home, at last, there is no time to really settle down and think and relax about how things have changed. At this point in my life, I for one don't have the place that stayed the same, that never changed; the one  I relied on that to well, keep me from going crazy.

But I can always look back on those videos of me laughing and playing and get a little wave of calm knowing that it existed: my centering place. A place where I felt comfortable and safe.  Now I have to find a new safe, never leaving place and It's hard but it has helped me be more grounded and down to earth. It helped me not be hectic or crazy but present in the moment, a place you will eventually come back to.


The author's comments:

Purpose- Arwen Harris is the author of the personal narrative “Home.”. She is 14 years old and was born May 29, 2005.  Her hobbies are swimming competitively year round and he also likes to paint and do experiments in art. She has ambitious dreams and wants to be a doctor in either sports medicine, immunology, or neurology.  Arwen enjoys reading books in the genre of comedy and horror. Arwen chose to write this piece because she feels that it was a part of her childhood and helped her grow as a person. It helped her connect to others and it was a happy place for her childhood which she then put into her writing.  She tried to convey the good times and then a realization to the real world and how its changed by using her room as the world in a way.


Brainstorming- She started brainstorming in her writer's notebook doing different exercises such as a thought chain (when you start with one thing/object and add onto it with ideas).  She realized that the details of her room both childhood and recent came up a lot in the memory chain, so she thought that she should put it all together and write about her childhood room and the change it went through.


Revision - In her revision she participated in a partner critic and based on the feedback she revised her narrative.  From the feedback she received from Mrs.Knox she also tweaked the personal narrative.


Challenges- Some challenges she faced was to include more dialogue so the reader could see the characters based on their thoughts or what they said.  tried to show not tell.


Strengths- I am really proud of my sensory words and use of imagery in my paper.  I think it really helps convey what my room looks like and the air or feel of the room.  She feels that she really captured the personality of the room and the memories within


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