Welcome to my room! these photos were taken in the same space from March 2020 to November 2020.

1. Sense of place
By: Ashley Newenle

2. Background:
Around this time last year, my family packed our
things and moved to Elizabeth, Nj. This was huge
for us because we had been living in a small
apartment in New York. This house has so much
space and this allows everyone the privacy and
the creativity that they deserve. This tour is going
to be the evolution of my bedroom.

3. Night One:
This image was taken on the first
night that we moved in. I was so
excited to finally have my own
room. This may not mean much
to most, but growing up in
poverty inhibited that
opportunity. I never had a space
that was just my own to be
myself in. Once I figured out that I
would have my own room, I knew
I had to make it special.

4. Getting settled in:
You may be wondering why there’s a
cat on your screen if this is about
space and place, but stick with me.
This is my cat George. Every time my
family moved, he hated where we
were. He was very sad in our New
York apartment for many reasons, the
main one being that he could not go
outside. This was a feeling that we
shared. I really didn’t like going out in
my old neighborhood because of the
danger and threats that were waiting
for me out there. Once we moved
here, we both had the opportunity to
get comfortable and explore.

5. Exploration and
Expression:
Here we are just hanging out in
my room, my sacred space. If
you can see in the very small
background there is some purple
lights going on… let’s move on
over to the next slide.

6. My Space:
This is my room now. It is not done yet, but I am very happy and comfortable here. I
think that most people underestimate the importance of unshared space and being
creative in it. I've had many happy moments and many painful moments in here
and I appreciate them all. My favorite part of my room are the lights. I think they
really add character to my room and allow me to adjust the color of my room to
my mood or even have a different sensory experience.

7. THANK
YOU!