Nina,

So let's see. Well, my interest in Pooh began when I was wee tike. I don't know exactly what it was at the time.. he was just so loveable. Like the type of friends everyone always wants to have. He was so warm, friendly, caring, humble, and pretty funny at times.

So, why the whole dorm room. Well, first of all I happen to like schemes. I wanted my room to be more than a mish-mosh of posters; I wanted my room to have a definite feel to it. When I look around my room right now, I essentially feel happiness. On the surface, the brilliant colors and the many smiles just make my room a wonderful place to be. However, the emotion I feel goes beyond how cute Pooh looks, but also involves all the underlying emotion and personal connection. By surrounding myself with the inhabitants of Pooh Corner all over my room, I am surrounding myself with an aspect of me.

Okay, so you asked about other peoples' reactions. When I first got here, my roommates were a bit surprised. But since I keep my Pooh-gear confined to my own little room which I keep all year (the only advantage of Canaday), it doesn't really bother or affect them at all. I think the key is that Winnie the Pooh is not the thing I'm interested in; it's just what I want my room to look like.

College life can be rather dull at times--hours and hours spent reading textbooks and writing essays. So my thinking is, if I have to spend so much at a desk at least let in be in an environment that I like. That's why I spent so much time fixing up my room. Just looking around reminds me how wonderful life is!

So, I guess I should finish with a brief synopsis of the stuff in my room. I have three bed spreads (w/curtains)--Pooh and Tigger playing in the leaves for autumn, Pooh sledding through snowflakes for winter, and Pooh and piglet surrounded by a sunshine and clouds for spring and summer. It's a nice way of bringing the outdoors inside my room. My walls are covered with Winnie the Pooh stick-ups, which are a really nice way of brightening up all the white space. I guess I'll just list everything else I have: Pooh desk lamp, Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore pencil, pen, crayon, and marker holders, Pooh eraser, Pooh glue stick, Pooh mousepad, 2 Hanging Pooh head pillows, Hanging Tigger head pillow, Pooh trash can, Pooh tissue box, 4 Pooh clocks, Pooh hamper, 5 Pooh picture frames, 2 Pooh Piggy Banks, A Few Pooh Magnets, Figures of all the Pooh characters, Tons of dolls of all the Pooh characters, A Pooh shower curtain (for the closet), Pooh dishware and flatware, Pooh Christmas lights (though not exactly for Christmas), Pooh towel, Pooh night light, Disney globe (w/Pooh characters on it), Pooh calendar, Pooh desk set w/stapler, paper clip holder, note card holder, and other stuff (coming soon), Pooh stationery (coming soon)

My name ("MIKEL") in Pooh wooden letters on my door, Lots and lots of Pooh stickers.

Wow. I guess I'm done now. I wrote all this for me, kind of like a diary entry. I spent enough times shopping for Pooh. it was about time I wrote about him. I just felt like writing about a topic that is very dear to me. Winnie the Pooh.

--Mikel