how to make home feel like home again?

after 3 years of living in nyc, i’ve returned to my birthplace of new orleans, louisiana. the gratitude i feel in having been able to leave home for undergrad to experience a brand new city is immense. the sense of independence and the consistent exposure to new perspectives, politics, communities, art, and media that i was blessed to experience while in new york city is severely missed along with the efficient public transportation and being able to walk to a place if need be. i still consider moving back, but that’s a stream of consciousness for another day.

i’m now back to living in the room that i grew up in. i also have no driver’s license or a car and this city is far from being walkable (especially in the east where i live). this whole post-grad experience is odd, uncomfortable, and frustrating. i am a new person with shifted desires and goals, but my current environment/reality doesn’t seem to match what i internally know to be true. grateful for the awareness that the current lesson obviously is patience and continuing learning to work with what i got.

a list of my desires in relation to home: a desk to work from, shelves for books and miscellaneous items, a new ceiling fan, lamps, a political home that’s easily accessible, space to paint, and an altar to honor my most benevolent of ancestors

what i’ve been digesting: Kwame True speeches on the AfroMarxist YouTube channel, Aja Monet’s when the poems do what they do, Ismatu Gwendolyn’s Threadings substack, the LifeStudyRevolution podcast with Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly and Dr. Layla Brown, and noname’s Sundial on repeat.