Its been six months since I became a fellow and moved to Washington D.C. I haven’t written a single blog! And this means, I must begin now. So here I am!
Despite being a storyteller and a journalist, I have been struggling to find themes and topics to write on. Every time I think I’ll write about a theme, I realize some of the active fellows have already covered it.
Besides, who am I to advise social change leaders on themes and topics that they are experts at! Networking, communications, project management, monitoring and evaluation… they know it all! Maybe they could guide me on some of that too.
Recently, somebody told me to write on how to turn around Channel Square housing since I recently did that and I laughed off. But with an email reminding me I must begin, this is probably a great start!
We often complain about things we haven’t been given but at the end of the day, we all have the power to turn things around. I moved to Channel Square housing in an empty room with a metal bed frame and an antique wooden bedside table six months ago. The accommodation was perfect distance from my work place but the room needed to look more like home and so I began turning around.
One day at a time, one object at a time. I painted (my first experience of painting ever) the dressing table, invested in small rugs, got insta sized travel photos I had taken during my travels for the walls, bought decoration pieces from Walmart and Tj Maxx clearance sections and added some candles and flowers to the room.
And viola! It turned out to be better than I expected!
A few months later, I felt like the living room needs the same touch too. And so, after getting my lovely housemates on board, we invested in some second hand furniture and a new rug and lovely cushions, some fairy lights and we now come back to a home that makes it easy to unwind. Every month, I try to add a small thing that makes it more home because lets face it, a year passes by in the blink of an eye, but the memories will remain forever.
Whether it’s the place we live in, the experiences we gather or the memories we make. Lets make them count.
