One of the most asked questions when going away to school is, "Where are you from?" My answer has always been Annapolis, but then I realized that answer is not the complete truth. I was born and raised in a small town near Annapolis, yes, but no longer is that my only home. I have a three place tie for the place I call home. I spend eight months of the year in a cylinder block dorm room surrounded by all of my friends at McDaniel College. Splitting those eight months, I spend two months in the Annapolis home I grew up in, the house where my mom, dad, and brother reside every day. The last place I am beyond grateful to call home is Bethany Beach, Delaware. I have always come to Bethany for weekends and mini-vacations, staying at my grandparent’s beach house but last year, I moved in for the summer and started working at Candy Kitchen on the boardwalk.
So I guess the real question is not where home is, but instead what home is. Is "home" a house that you go to sleep in every night and spend your free time in? Or is it a place you continually go back to? Are those two places the same? What is "home"?
As I said before, I have three homes. As cliché as it sounds, home IS where the heart is. Of course, Annapolis will always be my home and my go-to spot. It's where I will always be able to find my brother and parents, and I know that I am always welcome there. They are my family. Before this year, my home was just there and Bethany. I have a family in Bethany, too. I have become a part of the Candy Kitchen family. I spend more time in that small, colorful, sugar-filled store than I do in my own house. I spend more hours a week asking what type of fudge the customer in front of me wants than I do lounged in front of the TV at home. I spend more time with the co-workers who are now closer than friends to me than I do with my parents. They are also my family, making Bethany home.
Last August, I moved into my first dorm room. I moved in a week early for field hockey and I was looking at the names on all of the doors that neighbored my own. These faceless names soon became connected to a group of friends who I never knew could become my family so fast. School is my home. I am surrounded by no one but family here. People know exactly what everyone else is going through and how to help. I lived with my family there, too. I have found my forever friends.
I do have three constructed buildings that I can label as "home" but the only reason that they are lucky enough to receive that label is because they are what bring me to my family. A house is where all of your stuff is, but a home is where you can be surrounded by the people who mean the most to you at any given time or day. There is nothing I need more than a home because I know that along with home is a support system stronger than all others: It comes with family.
