Self-portrait

You are what you love. So, here’s what I love.

By Annika Carr, personal columnist

At the end of each day, I go to my favorite place, my pale pink bedroom.

I plug in the twinkle lights that wind their way up my 5x5 Kallax Ikea bookcase. Two rows are filled with young adult fiction, mostly fantasy but some dystopian and light sci-fi. One row with middle-grade fiction, one row of classics including a rainbow of Folger’s Shakespeare, and a mostly empty row to keep my vent exposed.

All the shelf space that was part of my Ikea loft bed no longer exists due to textbooks. One shelf crammed with Humanities texts, a perfectly full row of Norton anthologies-British and American, along with empty 3-ring binders, folders, and notebooks. Proudly facing the hallway is a Lego typewriter.

My pinboard features monthly “shelfie” pins from an Australian small business, The Enamel Library. The catalyst? One month was Jane Austin themed. There are plenty of book quotes littering the rest of the space on the board.

The vertically monitor on which I’m writing this essay stands in the corner of the desk, with my coral Switch Lite resting on the monitor stand. A baby pink gaming keyboard and mouse came at a similar time to the monitor. They are backlit with a lovely teal-blue color that matches my Beta fish, Poseidon’s tank light.

The only fully accessible wall has 3M Command floating shelves from floor to ceiling displaying my collector’s editions, special limited editions, and signed first editions.

My laptop wallpaper is a baby pink and blue royaltycore collage I made from Pinterest photos.

The only fully accessible wall has 3M Command floating shelves from floor to ceiling displaying my collector’s editions, special limited editions, and signed first editions.

A third of my wardrobe is full of dresses. I wear book t-shirts with blazers and heeled ankle boots on a daily basis. My favorite jewelry is book-related.

The top of my Ikea dresser is arranged like a vanity. Poseidon’s tank is on the right side, clear acrylic earring trees and a necklace holder on the left, and all my makeup is in the center. The pallets are lined up like books beside the three-drawer clear acrylic organizer from Michael’s.

At Christmastime, my rose gold Christmas tree stands in that corner.

Two packs of curtains are shoved in the back of my closet waiting for that project to be finished. One set is velvet, navy blackout curtains-they’re going to be over curtains. The second set is a sheer white with baby pink floral embroidery-the under curtains.

Eventually, these curtains will hang in the windows framing my pink Target butterfly reading chair, complete with navy and pink throw pillows, a cozy blanket, and a bookstand. At Christmastime, my rose gold Christmas tree stands in that corner.

I cross stitch for leisure. I’ve taking sewing lessons for fun. I carry my books — school and fun — in padded book sleeves. One pink, one lavender. I set Goodreads reading goals for myself of at least 52 books a year. I dream of writing young adult fiction.

These are the truest parts of who I am. This may a description of my room, but it is also a portrait of my soul.