What About Me 31°

Author

Micael Balioni
November 16, 2024

WHAT ABOUT ME?

Micael

she still does not have a name

Hello dear reader,

As many of you know, I've recently changed houses. This marks my fifth move in six years!

My housing journey in Milan makes me quite reflective because I truly started from the bottom here. I don't know how many of you had the pleasure (or misfortune) to see my first apartment in Milan. It was a tiny, sunless hole with mold, where I shared a room with a less-than-pleasant roommate. Later, I found a more isolated place, but at least I had a room to myself, and things began to improve from there.

  • Yet, even after five years, I never quite felt at home in any of those places. They were never truly mine—lacking that personal touch—and for a long time, I felt like a guest in my own house.

In Brazil, I never really felt at home either. My father moved into an apartment that was already furnished, and he never seemed to have the desire to make it his own. However, when I moved in with him, he agreed to refurnish my room. I was around 12 and it was the first time in my life that I had my own space. I chose the wall colors and the position of my bed, and I even had a spot for a TV, which I always dreamed of having (spoiler: ten years later, and I never had TV in my room). My decor included images of big cities like London, Paris, and New York to inspire my dream of studying abroad. That room was mine. It had Micael all over it, and I miss it to this day.

But my reality here couldn’t be further from that experience. And I feel like this is a common sentiment among young renters. Why spend money on a place that isn’t yours, especially when you’re uncertain about how long you’ll stay? Finding a decent rental in Milan is already so challenging that many of us are grateful to have a place and just live day by day.

However, this house feels different. For the first time, I’m in a really nice house without spending a fortune, and I’m at a point in my life where I have some disposable income to invest in making it mine. Although it's still a rental, I recently discussed with friends the idea that we have no problem spending a hundred euros on a nice coat or fifty euros on a nice dinner, so why do we consider it a waste to spend the same on our homes, even if they’re not our property?

  • Two weeks ago, I bought my first plant (the one from the picture above). It’s a beautiful addition to our living room and was quite expensive for a plant. Yes, I won’t take it with me when I move countries, but every time I look at it, I’m a hundred percent sure it was worth it. I'd much rather skip a nice dinner than not have it keeping me company.

I'm really excited about, for the first time in my adult life, slowly building my home. And who knows—maybe one day I'll enter my room here and feel, “there’s Micael all over it,” just like I did once before.

With love,

Micael.