In our twenties, we often move around a lot. To go to uni or learn a profession and then here and there, as we have not yet settled down. Some of us just move to the next town, some move through the whole country and some even pass national boundaries.
I moved to Australia a few months ago for a gap year and it made me think a lot about what home actually means. In a traditional sense, the place we grew up in or that we live in would be our home and there is the saying that the people we love are our homes. But for me, there are also objects that just feel like home. It is a fascinating concept, because home can take on so many shapes and it is so much more than just one thing.
So here are my favourite “home”-definitions that I have found:
“Home is where you can go when you can’t go anywhere else”
-Jean Thompson (her mom, actually)
https://storiesofourlivesnow.org/2024/03/01/the-meaning-of-home/
This quote actually reminds me of a scene in “Modern Family” (my favourite sitcom, for anyone who doesn’t know it), where all family members (Claire, Phil, Hailey, Alex and Luke, for anyone who does know it) come home after each having a bad day and then eating dinner together. That is what home as a place represents for me. It’s where you come back to on good and on bad days. Home is where you always WANT to go back to time and time again.
“Home is somewhere you can have your guard down without fear of hurt from others. Somewhere you can be yourself without fear of judgment or betrayal. […] home is a feeling and can be anything.”
-Hailey (unknown last name)
https://www.meaningofhome.ca/entries/19906
https://de.pinterest.com/pin/1102959765019962360
I have felt so often that I am only really being myself when I am home, in a space that I intentionally made into a reflection of myself. That is honestly the version of me that I like best, but it’s also the version of me that others rarely see. I think we can all try to bring out that part of us as often as possible outside of our homes too, but I also love the perspective on home as a space where you can be completely yourself, without any fear or judgement.
If there had to be one definition for home, I would say that home is a feeling. A feeling can be felt for anything: for a place, a person, an object, a pet, a food, a specific experience, a game, a plant and so much more.
If you guys have any more perspectives on what home is, I would love to read about them 💕
See you next week!
