.png)
By Emilia Perez
I think of lines that stood out to me from Wendell Berry’s 2004 novel Hannah Coulter. Though Hannah herself may be imaginary, she still has a realistic and humane character that I can look up to.
“Love is what carries you, for it is always there, even in the dark, or most in the dark, but shining out at times like gold stitches in a piece of embroidery.
Sometimes too I could see that love is a great room with a lot of doors, where we are invited to knock and come in. Though it contains all the world, the sun, moon, and stars, it is so small as to be also in our hearts. It is in the hearts of those who choose to come in. Some come in and stay, until they die, after the war. I am there with all the others, most of them gone but some who are still here, who gave me love and called forth love from me.”
- Wendell Berry, Hannah Coulter
What do the rooms of your heart look like? I’m still young but the rooms in my heart have been decorated with mementos from those come and gone. Imagine emerald green french doors, opening into an entryway illuminated by warm light. Family home videos play on the walls of the entryway, showing the laughing faces of my brothers and I growing up. My dad’s voice faintly instructs us to pose in the background of each video. In the sitting room to the right, little painted valentines that I made with my mom cover the walls, and the sound of music drifts in, undoubtedly being played by my brothers and their instruments. Along the staircase are framed photographs in London and Edinburgh taken with loved ones, but there’s plenty of space left for memories yet to come. The bedroom is similar to my current college room, colorful, and open to friends. There are more doors in the hall, but behind them are ladders, cans of paint, and furniture covered in sheets. They’re still under construction, getting ready for people yet to enter my life. I love the rooms in my heart and I want to continue to cultivate a space where I can appreciate all the love I’ve given and been given.
Emilia Perez is a McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville in the class of 2027. She is studying political science on a global studies and international track, Arabic, and Latin American and Latino studies.