Self-Concept Paper
This door was chosen carefully because it is the gateway to entering all that is contained within the house. It must be welcoming to attract family and friends who are worthy of entering and sharing in all of the warmth and comfort, but it must also act as a deterrent, or filter, against those would seek to enter uninvited. It is a difficult balance to achieve for such a seemingly insignificant object, but that is one reason why the door is so charming. It is disarming because it does not threaten angrily, it simply doesn’t open without the right key.
When it does open, it leads to a home filled with so much love that it encompasses you as you walk over the threshold. The foyer is cheerful and cozy and has a yellow glow of joyfulness. This mini-room, unlike the door with many layers of paint from multiple changes, is timeless like the echoes of a child’s laughter in its enthusiasm and brightness. It is a place where you can take off you coat and settle in for a pleasant visit.
From there, you may walk into the kitchen. The kitchen is similar in color to the foyer, but its tones are warmer, more orange than yellow, still cheerful but in a more intimate way. The table, surrounded by many chairs, is set in a manner that inspires conversation and family meals. The head of table is reserved for the owner of the highchair. Although he is physically small in every way, being only two years old, his presence is the largest and most important of all. There is a never-ending flow of cheerios and other miscellaneous food items on the floor no matter how many times a day the floors are swept, but luckily no one seems to mind.
The “living”-room is connected to the kitchen and it is an extension of a similar type of area. It is more comfortable and can be more light and entertaining in atmosphere, but still social and friendly. There are toys from one end to the other and these are for the owner of the highchair as well. They dominate the visual space of the room, but not in an overwhelming way. They are a reminder that when we relax we should do things that are enjoyable to us instead of always absently turning on the television for instant gratification. Overall, this is a room of rest and relaxation for all who enter.
Most people remain in the kitchen or “living”-room for the length of their visits, but some may enter the library. It is a very serious room and home to many books and puzzles, games and computers. This room is dark in color and much more masculine in decor than the other rooms in the house. A desk is prominent and there are many unfinished projects, concepts and philosophies written on paper and stacked neatly waiting for further input of thought or research, before completion. This is a scholarly room for discovery and thought, discussion and debates or quiet refection and contemplation. Once a visitor has entered and enjoyed this room, they may choose to return at consistent intervals to recharge their creative juices or to compare progress along their own personal journeys of self-discovery.
Most people do not realize how large the house really is or how many rooms exist beyond the main ones, because these rooms are sacred and private. The red room is in a state of disarray, because an unkind visitor left the room in chaos. It is a room that has not gotten a lot of attention from the owner, because it a project that causes pain and not a room that can actually be worked on without a partner. It is a room that was once very intimate and warm and is now very cold and empty. It has much potential and has not been given up on, but has been put on hold in preference of working on other areas of the house.
The basement, for instance, has been totally reconstructed in the past two years. After a major attack to the foundation, in the form of water destruction and erosion to the original support beams, much care and attention was given to every aspect of this area of the house. Every beam as refitted to ensure the strongest possible connection between the solid ground below and the structure it supported. It is an area of the house that can be easily ignored for great lengths of time, but must always be looked at when signs of imbalance or shifting are noticed elsewhere.
The attic is similar to the basement in its tendency to be overlooked for most of the time. The attic is usually hot and holds a lot of things that are not necessarily integral to the current theme of the house, but for whatever reason these things are not easily thrown away either. These may be items we want to pull out and look at from time to time to remember where we have been or to save to share with others at some point in the future. Ghosts usually watch over these items and perhaps we save these items out of respect to their attachment to them and our attachment to those very ghosts.
This house is under constant construction or change in one way or another but still home to its inhabitants, just like any other house.
