The objects of Beauty and the Beast’s castle are made to serve people. Likewise, buildings are created for human occupancy – without people buildings would not exist. Yet there are millions of buildings across the United States that sit empty, perhaps feeling lonely and longing for the day in which someone walks in their doors to reawaken them with a sense of purpose.

“Home is where you hang your hat.”

Closets and storage spaces are not only utilitarian. We use them, yes, to store utilitarian things; but we also use them to store things we keep near and dear, whether they be books, crafts, photographs, old letters, clothes, trinkets, or souvenirs. Things that we couldn’t imagine living without, things that make us who we are.

Undoubtedly, we have all spent more hours at home this past year than normal. Spending more time in our homes, with less stimulus, distraction, and rush, has provided the opportunity to slow down and to appreciate and connect more with our immediate environment. I look forward to 2021 in hopes that it brings the day in which we can finally emerge from our WFH lives, but whenever that day comes, I look especially forward to emerging as different humans than those that withdrew. Humans with a deeper sense of shared humanity and appreciation for the little things like the passing of light across a room.