Write a short story (600 – 1000 words) that describes your sense of home; write about the values and the stories that you use to connect yourself to, and to identify your sense of home.
March 22nd 2008 was the day that my concept of home physically changed. This was the day that my mother and I moved from the south coast of England, to Peachland a small town in beautiful British Columbia. This was the biggest day of my life so far, and at 12 years old for most kids, it would have been the worst day; I was taken away from what I knew, who I knew: my friends and my family. But it was not the worst day of my life. The first 12 years of my life were filled with ups and downs and I realized that this day would be a new up for me, this was the day that I could change everything, no one knew me in Canada and that meant at 12 years old, I could be anyone I wanted to be. Home therefore at this time in my life was the physical, the bungalow I last lived in with my mother and sister, and the country that molded my beliefs, my education, my view on the world and even my accent but now I was entering a new home: a bigger house in an even bigger country.
I had never really thought of home as anything more than the house I lived in as I grew up, but in the first few months of living in Canada, I realized that home was so much more than I ever knew. When we moved to Canada, we left behind my four older sisters and my nieces and nephews, this was the hardest part of the move and the feeling of missing them brought me to the concept of home as a feeling. Although I had my mother by my side to protect me and look after me in this big new country, I realized that it did not feel like home because my sisters were not with me. My sisters are my home. Going day after day without annoying the heck out of them, or getting them into trouble or going to them when someone was mean to me, left me feeling lonely, unsafe and lost. I knew I could turn to my mother but the relationship I had with my sisters, especially the second oldest was unable to be recreated between my mother and I.
These feelings I had did not prevent me from making friends at my new school, or stopped me from enjoying this new country but it did create this silence that surrounded me on the days where I sat and stopped to think a while. Knowing I could not go round the corner and stay at my sisters house or call them when ever I wanted (time zones really screw that up) made it clear that life was different, this home would not be like the home that I grew up knowing. I also at this time realized that my sisters were growing up ( there is a large age gap between my sisters and I) and did not have time to concern their life around their baby sister in another country. Though this was hard to accept it also showed me that I too am growing up and life changes.
Now in this present day, after thinking about my family, my great move and where I am today, I have come to the conclusion of what ‘home’ now means to me. It is a feeling of completeness. Home is what you make it. I went from thinking that I knew exactly what ‘home’ is: my sisters, and being with them in England, but that is not it. ‘Home’ is a feeling you get when YOU choose who you surround yourself with; home is a place of security and happiness, so choose those who bring both of these to you. It is inevitable for life not to change, and home is a part of that, home changes as we grow, and sitting here on September 28th 2016 in Kelowna, Canada, my friends, my mother, my sisters and now my amazing boyfriend are my home. As cheesy as it sounds, they complete me.
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I also really recommend reading Billie Letts’ book Where the Heart is. This book will leave your heart full and feeling good, as it follows a young girl on her lonely journey of pregnancy where she finds a new family and a new home. The story connects with my views on surrounding yourself with the right people in order to feel like you are home. Or you can watch it on Netflix too.