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JOSH
He/Him, 20, La Puente CA



Q. What do you think your room says about you?
- My room kind of shows how much I value art, all kinds of art for that matter. I think surrounding  yourself with beautiful things creates a more focused headspace and sets you up for a healthier mentality. My walls are filled with so much crap, it’s literally me maximizing and utilizing the small space I have. I've always been a very literal person who needs to be surrounded with his most valued things, which sometimes are the most forgettable things to others.


Q. Do you think your future room will have the same qualities as your room now?
-I think my room will always be filled with stuff that I love. I would hate to think of my room as just....a literal room. I’ve lived here for 12 years. I've not only lived here, but I've had so many intimate moments in here. I will always hold any room I reside in as a place of security.

Q. In some photographs, I may have asked you what items or pieces of your room meant the most to you, why did you choose those items? What connection do you have with these objects?

-Well, there’s a picture of me holding a Bart Simpson toy, there’s nothing too deep about it. I love Bart Simpson, I love to value the most useless crap, I think it has to do with me growing up so poor that I hold onto anything in case I ever need it. I blame my childhood trauma for my messiness damn.

Q. Did you clean your room before it was photographed? I gave no instruction to clean or prepare your room in any way. If you did choose to clean it why? And if you didn't choose to clean it, how come?

-Yes I cleaned my room, because I had never met Ray before, and I didn’t want him to think I was a stank ass. Now that I think of it, I shouldn’t have cleaned it, because it's a mess most of the time. It really depends on my mental health though.. I overwatered my plant the other day and almost had a breakdown.

Q. Are you home often? (if so why?) Do you spend the most time in your room or elsewhere?(if so why?)

-Yes, I actually am home a lot of the time. This room is actually an entire home to me. Solitude is so beautiful to me, being alone and formulating practices that only you know about is something so sacred. There's these pictures of James Dean inside his new york apartment, which always resonated with me so much. The space is so small, but he has everything he needs in there. I do everything here, paint , play guitar, read, everything.

Q. Would you say you're proud of your room? Do you feel like it suits you well? (alternate question: Do you feel like it is a good representation of who you are/how you project yourself?)

-Yeah, you can learn a lot about me from this room. It’s so uniquely me. Who else would have cherubs hot glued on to their wall?? I think letting someone into your room is such a vulnerable act. You’re basically letting people into a part of your life that only you know about.

Q. How do you feel about where you are in life right now? Are you content with how everything is going and how you are portrayed

-To be honest, I hate where I am right now. My mental health ain’t great, and my future is kind of uncertain. I think being a young adult has got to be one of the most difficult times of anyone’s life. It’s literal hell having to live in a society where young creatives have such limited options to reaching success. I hope I figure it out though .

Q. Do you consider yourself a social person, or do you fall somewhere in between social and antisocial? (explain)

-I honestly consider myself a bit more antisocial. People might be fooled by my loud ass mouth and dumb ass humor, but honestly having to meet new people is so draining, not because I hate people, but because of my fear of them having a warped perception of me. That's the scariest part, someone having totally the wrong idea of you.

Q. Why did you want to be a part of this series?

-I think my room is an expression of who I am, and I just wanted to showcase that to more people. Self-expression is really fun when you don’t have to communicate it through actual words. It feels so gratifying when people can correctly translate who you are based on how you express yourself .

Q. How do you think you'll react to these photos later on in life?

I hope that in the future, when I see these pictures, it’ll give me reassurance in the comfort of solitude. I was alone a lot growing up , mostly in this exact room. Solitude isn’t something that should be feared. A lot of people misconstrue the word and associate it with sadness. When in reality, solitude can be one of the most freeing things. I hope in the future I still have this same mentality .

Q. Did you have any following statements about your room? Anything you want people to take away from these photos?

-I love my room. It's one of my greatest joys, I'm in love with everything you see in these photos, and I encourage others to fall in love more ,and become more impassioned with whatever they find beautiful.