Bright city lights. Christmas lights. Or just any type of light in general is what captures Alison Lu’s attention. And if you ever stepped into her bedroom you’d need a pair of sunglasses to make your way through.

           “I guess I’m just a night life city girl,” the junior said. “I have an obsession for any sort of lights. I think they’re beautiful.”
           Above her bed’s headboard, and draped over her closet door, is where she hangs strands of Christmas lights that make the room shine like New York at night. Some might say it should be a safety hazard, and others say it’s creative. But that’s not the only thing that fascinates Lu.
           Her closet door is collaged with cutouts of models from magazines that show unique fashion. These collages just some of the interests she has.

“It’s an inspiration I have,” Lu said. “Being able to put my own flavor into things, like fashion, is something I love to do. Even though I don’t dress like it.”   

On the way towards her bed, a bright colored Rhythm Inc poster is hung onto the wall above her headboard. Rhythm Inc. was the first hip-hop dance team she danced with along with her friends and family. It’s a reminder of all the happy memories she had with her team while competing through California.

Lu loves to capture the best moments she’s had with her friends and cherish them by presenting them in a fashionable way in her room.

“Freshman year was a really good year for me,” Lu said. “My friends made it unforgettable.”

And on her light blue colored walls are pictures of her friends from freshman year taped onto cardboard hearts, covered in zebra print duct tape. Being a junior, now she likes to stop and reminisce about the past two years.

Back to the surface of her bed lie a few stuffed panda bears she owns. Because they’re endangered and cute, Lu says they’re her favorite animal. They also coordinate colors with her black and white floral bed sheets.

“I don’t really know what to categorize myself under,” Lu said. “I would say I am a weird teenager that loves to express herself through art.”

And by the surroundings of her room,  she’s right. All the time and effort she’s put into creating her room to make herself feel comfortable doesn’t specifically define who she is.

Whether she’s a fashionista, city girl, animal lover, or even a family person, her interests are too broad to be limited to a single label.