In the wise words of Virginia Woolf, a woman needs a room of one’s own to be able to produce works of fiction. And she could not have been more correct.
Although I haven’t read her essay thoroughly and I am in no place to cite her as a source, I completely agree with the sentence. For the past couple of months, “desk time” has become an important ritual in my daily life. This desk time is far different than what is asked of a “desk job” even though it shares the similarity of taking place on a desk. I came to realize with experience that for me, fun is something you discover through engaging with interesting activities which usually require me to use my mental capacities. Now I spend a specified and intentional amount of time on my desk every now and then. Since I started my ritual of desk time, I’ve been spending mindful moments surfing the internet or doing whatever needs to be done on the desk. Most times I either journal, watch vlogs on youtube or read articles. This desk time can also be used for some special events such as tea parties too, I like doing my solo tea parties as a part of my desk time rituals since it’s just any desk time accompanied with a cup of tea and some pastries.
A sad reality is how common it is that many young people struggle with finding a place to sit down and be completely unbothered for a while. Privacy is an often neglected right by so many, whether it is with our data or simply our time for ourselves, and all just because people think it’s unnecessary when it’s quite the opposite. Returning to Virginia Woolf, for this reason, I believe we absolutely do need a room to ourselves. We need at least a minimum amount of self-care to maintain ourselves and that includes a proper place to organize our thoughts.
It may sound stupid but intellectual self-care is definitely a thing. To properly take care of our minds and intellect, we need time spent on organizing our thoughts and planning what we want to do with our time. Returning to my parent’s house, I once again realized the true privilege and importance of spending time on organizing our thoughts. It’s only once we are properly rested, nurtured and left alone to our thoughts we are individuals capable of making the correct choices for our lives. Depriving one of the apparatus necessary for properly organizing individual thought is always an act to suppress self expression and informed individual choice. Even as I’m typing this article out, I got told that my typing noises are suspicious. I am typing, what else are you even supposed to do with a computer? And for this reason once again, everyone needs their desk time to thrive.