All bedrooms are different. Some may have posters on every inch of every surface and other rooms keep minimal – a bed, a nightstand, and maybe a bookshelf at most. In a way, these personal bubbles of concrete, plaster, and carpeting manage to reflect who we are.

“I have Justin Bieber and One Direction posters everywhere – I don’t like them anymore; I just haven’t gotten to taking them down,” junior Samantha Linn said. The posters are only unique aspect of her turquoise room with turquoise or orange decor, and strung white Christmas lights.

“My walls are turquoise too,” junior Alex Lindeke said. “There are pictures of my old friends from China on the walls,” Lindeke said.

“I have four rooms,” Lindeke said, including the one he had described earlier. “One is in the upper garage – it’s like a man cave,” Lindeke said. “The other is really small and in the den.” The last room, across from his grandma’s room is “the most comfortable, but I don’t usually sleep there because [my grandma] snores.”

Rooms are often a mess, covered in piles of one thing or another.

“Not during the school year,” Linn said when asked if her room was messy, “but in the summer I keep tidy.”

“It used to be a lot messier…it’s pretty bare now actually,” sophomore Anna Biggs said.

Freshman Charlie Christakos described the cleanliness of his room as, “I don’t have to dig through a giant burial mound, you know?” he said.

“I usually hang out in my room because it’s the quietest place,” senior Emma Chang said, “I do my homework in my room a lot.”

Sophomore Emily Olson offered her insight on room use. “Your room or bed shouldn’t be a place for studying – it causes stress,” she said.

Just like people, rooms grow with their occupants. “When I was younger it was more for comfort, like a couch and TV,” freshman Kyle Ziemer said, “but now it’s more for studying and school stuff.” Ziemer highlighted the transformation that many rooms go through as they continue to accommodate their residents’ needs. Ziemer also compared his room to his younger brother’s, “I have a lot of shelves for books in my room. It’s more like a studying infrastructure so it has more desks and tables,” he said,“I like to read a lot, and academics are pretty interesting. I also have lots of sports stuff,” he said, explaining the reason for his transforming room. – [My brother] doesn’t have much use for that stuff so he has chairs and a fish tank.”

“There are more books,” sophomore Sam Parkhurst said, the accumulation of books being the only sign of a growing room. “There are a lot of books, and it’s really messy, and that’s about it.”

For Lindeke, a room that grows with age isn’t the case. “I’ve slept in the same bed since I was two,” he said.

Very little has changed in the room of freshman Mark Ademite also. “I think I’ve had my bedroom since I was a kid, I’ve liked it ever since so I haven’t changed it.”

Ademite, who played on the Varsity football team this year, also describes a football-oriented room. “I have everything tied into football,” he said, “Pictures of me playing football, pictures of football players, signed pictures of football players – just everything football for me.”

Rooms are a place to hang out and relax. A place to sleep and a place to dress. A place for homework – even though it may not be the best spot. Most of all, our rooms can show who and what we care about and display the things we love and live for.