Isaac

Isaac does not spend a lot of time in his room. Since he is not there often, he feels that his closet has gotten cluttered (fig. 4). However, organization is less important to Isaac than sentimental appeal. “The room isn’t my hub on campus,” he explained. “My friends are, my community. So really, I just want the room to remind me of that.” His room is strewn with mementos of his friends, ranging from photobooth strips and art friends created, to letters written to him (fig. 2). “A lot of the stuff here was hanging in my room at home, originally,” Isaac said. By surrounding himself with items originally displayed in his childhood home, Isaac creates a sense of continuity and familiarity, effectively transforming his dormitory into a comforting extension of his “real home.” For example, he hung digital prints of him and his brothers that his mom printed out on his desk (fig. 3).

Isaac created a wall collage above his bed. A lot of this art was created by friends, or gotten with them. “Some of my friends and I actually share the same wall decor,” he tells me. “So, even though we go to different schools, we are connected through that.” This collage also connects him to his upbringing in New York City. For example, he and a friend ripped down the poster for their subway stop the night before college, and hanging it above his bed reminds him of that memory. He has a lot of art that relates to his neighborhood, or that he got while at home. “I went a bit curatorial with it,” he says. “I wanted to make a collage, because I like that aesthetic. But also, these are things that are important to me. It looks cool, but it's deeply personal.”

Isaac’s room reflects his cultural upbringing; he was brought up alongside his Chinese cousins, and spoke Mandarin as his first language. A lot of the art in his room connects to media he consumed in his childhood, evoking a sense of nostalgia. For example, he has a lot of Miffy and Pingu prints, which are characters from a picture book and children’s tv show, respectively (fig. 2). He also has Totoro figurines (fig. 1) and posters (fig. 2). He was raised primarily by his nanny, who is Chinese. She sent Isaac items to hang up “for superstition,” as well as envelopes for the Lunar New Year, which remind him of her and his childhood when he views them (fig. 1). The inclusion of nostalgic media and items sent by his Chinese nanny highlights the significance of familial bonds and cultural traditions in shaping his sense of self.

Isaac also uses food to connect to his cultural upbringing. He has a makeshift kitchen in his bookshelf, featuring noodles of every imaginable variety, Asian condiments, and cooking utensils (fig. 1). “I go to this Asian market in Hartford,” he explained. “Wesleyan doesn’t have food here that reminds me of my childhood. It’s important to me to have that.” The “kitchen” is a way for Isaac to explore his hobby for cooking, as well as a reminder of his cultural and culinary upbringing.