Roots

Jun 11

Written By Ayumi Date

Why agency matters

起源

Kigen

My parents arrived from Japan separately, each with one suitcase. As a product of the “American Dream,” I grew up watching my living environments grow and change.

Different from my friends, I was not raised with a second home, camp or vacation trips during spring breaks and holidays. Instead, my parents saved for our summer sojourns to Japan. After my younger sister’s birth in 1972 in Japan, she and I returned every two years.

Summers at home in America were quiet and solitary. With an almost six year age difference between me and my sister, I spent my early years by myself. Like my memories of travels to Japan, reading became my escape. Books were and continue to be cherished like friends. Words imagine, console, dream, befriend and matter.

I credit my love of reading to my beloved 4th grade teacher, Mr. Mischa Arenstein. He recognized me and my potential. He would write the title and author on a strip of colored paper after each student finished a book. These stapled strips would hang and grow above each students’ seat. By the end of the school year, our environment was filled with floating stacks of books—a rainbow of library clouds over our heads, celebrating our collective achievement. This concept of togetherness has stayed with me throughout my life. Celebrations are sweeter when you share them.

My imagination grew within my small bedroom. My room was my agency, my personal playground. I would spend weekends organizing my things, moving my furniture and testing out new configurations. Without the professional or financial resources for a complete makeover, I worked on it slowly, adding and changing elements judiciously. This was a world where I found comfort, connection and love. I am always grateful to enjoy a private, safe space of my own and of my quiet enjoyment.