The concept of a home is something that we all innately desire because it is something that provides comfort, security and a sense of belonging. For most of our lives, our home is a physical place where we live with our parents, siblings and other family members. But as we grow older, move from town to town, go to college, get separated from our friends and the ones we love, the definition of home becomes hazy. Suddenly, it feels like home is either split up between multiple places or that home is not a tangible place.
My fascination with defining my home began when I moved to college, which was a whole new world and experience for me. Although I was only a half an hour drive from the town where I grew up, I felt as if I had left everything I knew and was comfortable with to embark on a new journey. As I became more adjusted to college life and acquainted with the people around me, the once familiar places back in my hometown seemed more distant and irrelevant. I started to question where my home truly was: whether it was at school or back where I had spent most of my life.
It was after much contemplation that I came to the conclusion that while home could be a place, or even multiple places, it is so much more than a geographical location on a map. Home is the people who make you feel safe and wanted, the ones that don't give up on you even when it feels like your entire world is crumbling down. Home is warm smiles and comfort food, no matter where that may be. It is a community that you really feel connected to, but at the same time, it is yourself and being content with your own victories, failures, and solitude.
Our homes are always changing and evolving and as we go through various phases in our lives, the meaning of the word home will reflect our newly formed experiences, while still adding onto the ones from our pasts. We can spend an infinite amount of time figuring out where our place in the world is, but maybe it's better to embrace wherever we currently are right now and cherish that for what it is.
