Throughout the reading, particular when Miller described objects in one’s home, I kept considering the phrase, “it really ties the room together.”  I felt that because it proved the point that I felt Miller is trying to make, that objects mean everything, and they also mean nothing.  To suggest that a room is not a room, or it isn’t a sufficient and fit room in which to be, if there isn’t a proper picture on the wall, or a beautiful pillow or blanket for the couch, perhaps a centerpiece or bowl on a table.  It’s cultural, it’s comforting, it’s downright odd.  With that said, I’ll move on into something I’ve gained some insight into recently about my own room.  I live at home with my parents, in the same room I grew up, and so many objects are new, but plenty are old.  I plan to graduate soon, and this means that in some capacity I plan to move out, whether I go to grad school or get a job, logistically, it may be a while until I do so.  Nevertheless, my mind moves towards what will stay, and what will go when I do.  I looked at all of the posters, bulletin boards, etc. hanging on my wall.  They provided comfort, they brightened up the room when I was growing up, and even in my recent endeavors.  Among these are TWO bulletin boards, I mostly hang pictures, school information, and other mementos on them.  Moving on, I have the headline from Derek Jeter’s final game in Yankee Stadium, a poster of the Super Bowl XLII (2007) Champion New York Giants, a few plaques I’d been gifted of old teams I’d admired, a frame in which the picture has been swapped numerous times (honestly I like the frame and that’s why it’s still hanging).  On Valentine’s Day last year, my girlfriend Alexa gave me a “candy poster”, which is my best way of describing it.  I’m sure some of you have seen one, it’s a poster with various sayings where candy is attached to add meaning, (ex. the first line reads “To my Sweetart” and a roll of Sweetart candy is attached).  Moreover, the bottom line is, at one point or another, these all meant a great deal to me, and in many ways they still do, or I would have taken them down a la Marie Kondo.  However, the most recent one I received is perhaps the most precious in that it defines me best.  Despite my affinity towards all of the posters and fixtures I’ve just described, they will likely stay here when I leave, and that’s not a bad thing by any means.  As cliche as this sounds, these are all symbols of where I’ve been.  So now you may be wondering logically, “won’t this new fixture turn out the same way.”  And the answer is yes, but not for a long, long time.  One of my true goals in life, and by that, I mean, my list of “A Thousand Places to See Before You Die”, consists of the 30 Major League ballparks in North America.  This Christmas, Alexa gave me “Steven’s Atlas of Baseball” which in its simplest form, is a map of North America.  The design purpose of this map is to showcase which stadiums I’ve been to, and which ones are still on the list.

My “Atlas of Baseball”

I conclude this by saying that this is my “habitus.”  For the rest of my life, I’ll never want to live without this, it is part of my lifestyle, as you all have no idea how badly I want to make those red pins disappear.  To think I’ve only made it to 7 of 30 (if you count closely, there are only 27 pins, as two won’t fit in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles).  The bottom line being that for me, this map, will tie any room together.