I've always found that old saying to be true, and I've always thought that my home is with my mom.

So much so that when I moved to college, I never called the place that I was living in "home." It was my dorm, my apartment, but never my home. My parents' house in Los Angeles, where my mom was, was home.

And it will always be, but lately, I've found that my home has expanded quite a bit.

For me, home is in the people around me, and in those I carry with me.

Last year, my sister got married and moved to her own house with her husband. I had an irrational sense of abandonment. Irrational because, of course, she didn't abandon me, and really, she was only 10 minutes away! But I realized that she was my home, too.

Then one night, I lay on the floor of the living room in my apartment, reading a magazine about My Chemical Romance. Two of my roommates sat on either side of me and we talked about the band and the music that we listened to when we were younger. Being there with them was so casual and comfortable and silly, and it felt like home.

Home is also my other roommate, who constantly tells me she's proud of me whenever I try something new. I appreciate it because she knows how much I struggle and she understands what it takes for me to put myself out there.

I also find home in the silences that I share with my best friend just because I know she's there. Cracking jokes with my other good friend is home, too.

Home is in my nephew's smile and laugh, and even in the tantrums he throws.

Maybe I'm just getting more emotional as I get older and I've started to count my blessings. But at the same time I've realized that these relationships take time, energy and effort. They take patience. So much patience.

Patience for misunderstandings, for when they hurt you, for when you hurt them, for tantrums.

Home means not taking things personally when someone is in a bad mood, and knowing when to let go, knowing when to push. Home takes sharing and letting people in, even when it's hard and you feel like you have nothing to offer.

You learn to trust other people and they learn to trust you. Eventually, you're comfortable enough to be yourself, which is most likely who the people around you want to know anyway.

Some people have lots of homes, some have few and others seemingly don't have any at all. It's OK, you'll find your home eventually. It's a lot of hard work, but you can do it.

You also shouldn't limit the number of people who you interact with. Some people will stay and others will go. No matter what, you can appreciate the time you have with them.

And when you find your little piece of home, it won't matter where you are.