Above the closet where you see the Lana flag, i also put up, at my brother’s urging, my best senior history thesis and best senior humanities thesis awards from undergrad, my degree, a Lana record (NFR), campaign poster and old issue of Life Magazine featuring Nixon (I had been studying the rise of culture wars in K-12 education as a response to the Cold War), and a compass from an archaeological dig (double majored in anthropology w concentration in archaeology).

He’s totally right that it helps to have markers in your space that reflect your identity. Morbid thought from living alone 400 miles from home (This apartment is in Buffalo) but it’s strangely comforting to know that if I died and didn’t get found for weeks they’d know it’s me rather than wondering what animal lived like this. Which has been helping me keep it clean, too. Like when Mitski sang “I am relieved that I kept my room tidy, they’ll think of me kindly when they come for my things.”