The importance of a desk

[My desk before]

[My desk after]

[small decorative bowls and a plain desk calendar with colorful post-its add a fun touch]

[coffee mug as a writing utensil holder, a pretty paperweight, bright post-it's and a journal my dad gave me. i love to write anything that comes to mind down in there]

If you are a writer you know how important it is to have a place where you can sit down, relax, be alone and inspired for your writing.  However, when you are a college student it's hard to define this kind of personal space for yourself. 

I live in a house that nearly 50 other women call home too.  There is rarely a time where I'm alone with my thoughts.

Fortunately for me, I have a room all to myself this semseter.  My room, although my own, still feels so much like a dorm room as opposed to a homey bedroom.  There are so many restrictions in decorating that I sometimes feel it's impossible to make my dorm room feel cozy or representative of myself. 

When I was blogging at my desk the other day, I decided my desk was so utterly lame and typical.  I didn't feel the slightest bit inspired as I sat at it writing.

My desk is the standard college dorm room desk: plain, made of wood and not very exciting at all (see above before picture.)  On a low budget I was able to make my desk feel a little more clean, a little more invigorating and a little more presentational of my personality.    

When I went out shopping for some new desk related items I pictured myself like Carrie Bradshaw living in a tiny NYC apartment (except mine's a significantly smaller dorm room in PA) with my desk as my own little space to be creative and put my thoughts into words.  I also pictured Emily's office space posts from the home improvement section of her fabulous blog cupcakes and cashmere.  I have to admit, these are the two women who really sucked me into the world of journalism in the first place.

With a few small touches I was able to make my tremendous improvements to my small desk space.
I added:
-small decorative bowls to hold paper clips, binder clips, etc.
-painted coffee mug to hold my pens and pencils
-a large desk calendar with bright post-it notes to mark important events
-magazine racks to hold my textbooks and notebooks
-pictures of friends and family in fun picture frames
-a cute notebook for any ideas that come to mind