Growing up, I was like every other kid. I couldn’t wait to get away from home. I couldn’t wait to go off on my own and live a life that was completely mine. I thought the two were exclusive. As I went out to live this grand life, I realized that wasn’t so. Home doesn’t keep you from living your life, home helps you appreciate the life you have.
I don’t get home as much as I should. I keep myself busy at school, and in the summers I live in the Outer Banks. My parents joke that I don’t even live at home anymore, I’m just a visitor that occasionally rents a room. And while I may not spend more than two weeks at a time at home, it will always be mine.
My favorite place in the whole world is the kitchen in my house. It’s always full of good food and good smells. My dad is always sitting in the corner chair, my brother by his side. My mom is usually on the other side, making sure we get fed.
The noises and smells in the kitchen are what I think about when I think of home. I think of the smell of coffee and of brownies baking. I think of the sound of laughter and pots and pans clanging. I think of the faces of all the people that I love.
This is what home is. Home is where you can feel love. Home is where you feel peace. I don’t spend as much time as I would like to at home, but when I’m here, there is no place I would rather be.
The greatest feeling in the world is the immediate sense of calm that washes over me when I walk in my front door. As I sit here, on Christmas Eve, watching my mom bake my late grandfathers “famous” biscotti, watching movies, and laughing, I am overwhelmed with a feeling of belonging.
I feel very fortunate to have a home that I am so happy to be in. In a world that is crazy, scary, and a little dark sometimes, I welcome the bright light that is my home. My grandmother lives next door to me, my aunt and uncle live on my other side, and my grandparents are less than five minutes away. I am so lucky to come home to a place that is so full of love.
No matter how far I travel, no matter where I end up, I know that I have a home here, in the south hills of Pittsburgh. I know I have a home wherever my family is. My house is a home, but not because of where it is. My house is a home because of the people that fill it and the feeling it gives me.
Home is a feeling. It’s a feeling of love, acceptance, and peace. They say home is where the heart it, and my heart is certainly here.
