I recently went through my large collection of pictures from back when I had a camera (I was 13-17 and I loved taking pictures). I was determined to get rid of as much as possible so that I could fit all the photos in my white furry photo album. It didn't work out quite that way, but I got to re-live a lot of good memories. And looking back at my early teenage years showed me just how much I have changed since then. I'll give you an example that epitomizes the changes in my habits and my personality.
I found two pictures that go together. One was a before shot and the other an after shot of my bedroom when I was about 15. The before picture is of my room when it was a complete disaster. Think of a time when your own room has been a mess, multiply by ten, and that was my room. I was a very messy girl, and somehow I liked it that way. Sort of. I'm going to be very blunt, and describe the picture so that you can see just how bad it was (and this was all the time, not just a rare occurrence).
The bed wasn't made, and the sheets were all separated (an effect of my violent sleeping). My wet towels would sit on the bed after I showered, and I had a giant stuffed dog (as large as a four year old) lying across the messy covers. Every flat surface, including the floor, was covered with papers, half-read books, CD cases, magazines, dirty and clean clothes, make-up that I never used, and nick knacks of every kind. Almost every inch of wall space was covered with posters of Harry Potter, maps of places I had been (or wanted to go), church quotes, Young Women posters, and American Girl animal posters. I had a desk to write at, and even had an electric typewriter (because I didn't have a computer most of the time) but it was usually so covered with stuff that I didn't have room to do anything. My dresser was covered with picture frames of family, horses, and wolves, as well as more make-up that I never used. (I had a great-cousin who always gave make-up for birthdays.) There were things hanging from my bedposts and doorknobs, and lastly, there were storage totes sitting in the middle of the floor, taking up more space.
This was the state of my room all the time, unless mom threatened me into cleaning it up.
The after picture was my idea (at the time) of a clean room. The only things that were different though, was I had made the bed and the floor was clean. But everything that had been on the floor and bed was shoved under the bed and dresser and into my two nightstands, mostly to hide it from mom. I really hated to clean my room back then. So, from these two pictures (which I would post if I could, but I don't have a scanner) you can see that I had a very messy, lazy personality. I didn't care that my room was messy all the time. I kind of liked hunting for things among the piles. When I was forced to really clean my room (not just shove it under the bed) it took me ALL DAY which was probably why I hated it so much.
This mentality lasted for a very long time. But as I got older, I slowly got in to the habit of putting things away. It was very slow. So slow that I almost didn't notice when my room remained clean and organized for weeks at a time.
This is what my room looks like at the moment: Bed is made. (I got into that habit because the cats spend a lot of time in my room and I didn't want them lying directly on the bed, where I would be laying) The floor is clean of stuff, except for one book, World Masterpieces, which I was reading last night before bed. Instead of teenage-ish posters on the wall, I have a few hats hanging above the closet doors (decoration and easy access), my most used jewelry hanging next to my dresser (easy access, otherwise I wouldn't ever use them), a calender, my Student of the Year Award (for web design, my junior year), a dream-catcher, a single map of a fantasy world one of my stories is set in, and an Asian fan. Now, my room isn't perfect yet. There is a messy blanket sitting on my hope chest, both of my bookcases are a mess, and one corner of the room has become a storage space, but all in all the room is much cleaner than it has every been in my life. The clothes are all put away in their rightful spots, and there isn't anything to trip on. So now, my personality has changed to neat and organized, though there are still instances of laziness.
How has your personality changes since you were a teenager?
