Mina Sharif’s Writing Space

I do love to write at the library, but I can only do that if the high school kids aren’t hanging out in the study section. Otherwise, I hear the sound of a considerate teenager next to me, trying to eat chips quietly, torturing my nervous system in the process. When I’m home, I sit in a place that says to me, “You can and will do this.” It was once a little room in the basement, no longer in use, hosting a bed, a dusty treadmill, a lot of dark paint, and a hideous carpet. Until one day, mid-pandemic, I was struck with a “You can and will do this” determination. I decided the space could be reborn, and I would make it happen. Would this be the “new normal”? Social distancing and tackling home renovation projects on tiny budgets? I can confirm four years later—I still feel socially distanced, but the renos were a one-off.

Anyway, I DID make the room over. I ripped out the carpet and researched how the city prefers you dispose of fuzzy trash. I painted walls and installed brighter lighting.

I filled my personal space with colours and fabrics that speak to who I am and what I love. While I have a standard desk that does the trick, what I love is peering over my screen and being surrounded by my own creation. The diffuser bubbles and fills the room with the scent of cardamom oil. I sit directly across from my reading spot, a floor couch with my pillow covers from Afghanistan. The side table I found on the street, now painted coral, another piece in gold. I look back down at my keyboard, and say to myself, “You can, and will.” We are all creators.