Nesting.

About 5 years ago, when I came home from college for a holiday, I went to visit a dear friend of mine with whom I had grown up with. I was living in dorm room with 2 other girls with barely enough room for all of our clothing, let along anything that resembled furniture that was not standard dormitory: desk, chair and bed.


This friend of mine was 19, living on her own and had just bought a sofa set (couch, chair and ottoman), and also a washer and dryer. The part that blew me away was that all of these items were purchased New! Despite being a little blown away by her independence (she also owned a newer car, which is only relevant because the car that I owned before I sold it and went to college was a 1977 Dodge Colt purchased for $400), I was shocked by her materialism and even more that she seemed to be nesting. Who nests at the age of 19?! I couldn't grasp the concept. I was busy being independant in my own way... the kind in which you accru debt to your insitute of higher education in order to be an independant thinker and Student of Life. The nicest thing I owned was my laptop computer that was actually too nice for what I needed (My brother, a gamer, decided I needed a higher resolution and massive amounts of memory to run MS office... but just in case I decided I wanted to take up playing Warcraft or something).

Anyway, after 5 years I'm beginning to get hip to the nesting phenomenon. While It certainly makes sense to create a home in which you are comfortable and surround yourself with nice surroundings, I still can't really relate to purchasing brand new things on lines of credit. Our table from Ikea came to a grand total of $130 (thanks mom!). Perhaps I am nesting without illusions of permanence (easy to do when renting). Regardless, thoughts of making my home just that much more cozy or pleasant or livable are at the forefront of my mind. Part of me is worried about these constant thoughts that manifest them around materialism, but is overridden by the fact that I am supremely happy about my living situation. I suppose if material things bring this kind of happiness, the happiness of creating a home, it certainly can't be all bad. Especially when my only debt is to an insitute of higher education.



Also- one of the highlights of my weekend was having a discussion about non-euclidean geometry over margaritas on Saturday night.