For many people "home" is the place they were born, they picture the house they were raised in. Many tend to never stray from this "home", it is a comfort zone and a place that always welcomes you with open arms. When asked, "What is home to you?", it is common to hear the description of a perfect suburban home with friendly neighbors and a town that raised them.

This used to be my definition of home as well until I turned ten and moved across the country. I can vividly remember being so upset by the unsettling noises coming from the attic of our new rental home in California. This wasn't home to me. I screamed and cried to my dad on the stairs that I just want to go back home (New Baltimore, Michigan at the time). I remember the heartache from his response, "This is your home now".

In all honesty, I look back and understand my feelings, but I also know that it was just as difficult and uncomfortable for my parents to adjust. I now trust that they will always do what's best for my family and I. Discomfort is temporary, and it helps us to grow. After moving for the first time, I went through a rebellious phase trying to fit in. After making some mistakes, I realized each day is a learning process and a chance to become better. Nobody is perfect and a big move like this helped me mature and become more independent.

I realized the house with white floors and white walls with brassy detailing was just temporary as well, it was necessary to live there until we found the perfect house. In the end, we got our beautiful house and I got to have a spiral staircase in my room, it was worth the wait. After more than 6 years, this house began to feel like home. I wouldn't have traded the memories for the world, but some things aren't perfect forever and the California dream had to come to a close.

Now, this is where I get dramatic again because I felt as if my world was literally ending moving away from California to Colorado leaving my "home". I was already going to school at Michigan State in which I said, "I'm going to a school where it feels like 'home'". So, at this point, it felt as if the feeling of home is all over the place. Now we're back at that white carpet everywhere, white walls stage, but as I think about it, I can trust this is the right decision. The best is yet to come.

This is where I realize home doesn't have to be a place, home is where there is unconditional love, and, in this case, home is my family.