The Writing Boom
Upon entering an unfamiliar place, a stranger is usually greeted with the phrase, “Just make yourself at home.” This familiar phrase sets the newcomer at ease and, in all honesty, does in fact make them feel right at home.
In my view, a person’s home is defined by the abundance of comfort and security it bestows upon those who call it thus. More importantly, however, home is where a person feels freest to express themselves and their ideas. However, “making yourself at home” in a college residence hall, or “dorm,” can be the most nerve-wracking task ever undertaken by an uneasy college freshman. From the turbulent seas of unfamiliar faces to the dizzying mazes of windy hallways, many a college freshman, myself included, stop to wonder if they will ever feel secure and “at home” in their stark new residential settings.
Is it possible to unlock the secret - to find just one element of “dorm life” that can bridge the gap between the dorm and old home-sweet-home?
Believe it or not, the secret lies with the printed word.
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In every lounge and common area in my Case residential hall, oversized dry-erase boards and old-style bulletin boards have been installed for the express purpose of displaying whatever we residents deem noteworthy. We kept to this conformist plan in the beginning, by displaying “only the important stuff” and by keeping all writing and posted material within the iron confines of the boards. However, as news of the “public posting” boards spread throughout the building, ever-increasing numbers of eager residents began flocking in droves to the posting boards. Despite our original agreement to post “only the important stuff,“ the public posting surfaces soon morphed into proverbial “message boards“ which, at this point in time, displayed all sorts of flamboyant, friendly, and often ridiculous messages penned in every known font, color, and nonconformist alignment.
After what seemed like mere hours had passed since the first message had been composed, the set limits of those “message boards” vaporized. Writing was no longer held prisoner by the iron confines of our message boards. The entire building was overtaken by writing as ever-increasing numbers of residents adopted a spirit of free writing. Student-produced flyers, colorful posters, and personal messages of every description papered the walls, windows and doors of my residential house. Though my initial reaction to this widespread writing boom was one of annoyance, my second thoughts led me to draw a profound conclusion.
There is but one way to account for this writing boom:
My fellow residents were so eager to write because they found freedom and comfort by expressing themselves with free, unchecked writing.
Freedom, comfort, security…feels like home, doesn’t it?
As I mentioned before, home is a place of unmatched security, where a person feels freest to express themselves and their ideas. When a new resident is faced with the almost insurmountable task of uncovering that same security in their college dorm, free writing can offer the solution. I offer my own experience as proof of this. If college residence halls and associations encourage the residents to write in a free, uninhibited manner, then the residents will undoubtedly feel more comfortable in their new surroundings, more secure in the pursuit of their goals, and more “at home” at their university.
Comments
Posted by: Heidi Cool
Posted on: September 11, 2007 12:43 AM
Patricia,
That's a great observation. When I was in school, we would sometimes go "door shopping." This consisted of wandering the hallways to see what people had put on the doors and what could be added to them. Back then everyone had a dry erase board on the door, but over time it seemed as though people competed to fill in the rest of the space. I think I had some sort of scenic collage that morphed over time as people added trees, people, creatures and various bits of nonsense. It was sort of like a freeform gallery.