Read at least 3 students blog short stories about ‘home’ and make a list of the common shared assumptions, values and stories that you find. Post this list on your blog.

After reading through a number of this week’s blogs I came across the common shared assumptions below.

Family – In almost every post the idea of family was mentioned and the thought of being around the ones we love and the relationships we cherish.

Memories – A number of people spoke about memories they had as a child. Even if they moved they still remember their experiences that created the idea of home.

Comfort – A sense of comfort seemed to be the popular theme when speaking of what home feels like.

Familiarity – Much like comfort, familiarity gives people a sense of home and this plays into the idea of feeling safe and free to be yourself.

This week’s task of looking for common shared assumptions really got me thinking about my home. When I spoke of home in my original post I spoke of my childhood even though I am now a grown woman with children of my own. What I’ve realized is that I have yet to make my house a home. This is most likely due to the fact that my relationship with my children’s father was not meant to be and even though it was not a negative environment for our kids we both knew deep down that we would be better off apart. Because our hearts were not in it we never made the effort to make our house a home and I think that is why we have recently decided to live apart. We know this is the best choice for all of us to be happier and I am looking forward to creating a home for my children. For me this little story confirms what I said in my original post, home is where the heart is!

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.

I see the idea of home from two different, yet connected, perspectives. When thinking about my sense of home I instantly think of family and the old cliche saying that, “Home is where the heart is”. As cliche as it is, I believe it to be true. Throughout my life I have been very fortunate to live in many different cities. Every hockey season I would venture off to some new town where I would settle in for six months while playing professional hockey on a number of different minor pro teams. From Bakersfield California to Temple Texas, and even all the way to Amberg Germany. I traveled the globe and got to play the game I loved for a living. Out of all the amazing places I was able to visit, my heart always drew me back to the city I was born and raised in. I always knew and even remember telling people throughout my travels that Vancouver will always be home. My reasons for this go well beyond the beauty of the city and the amazing climate and are rooted in family and familiarity.

The members of my family are truly my best friends. They are my stability and my strength. My father who was an athlete and a firefighter is my hero and best coach in both sports and life. My mother who is my greatest fan is my best friend and the one I call on in times of need. My sister is my rock in the sense that she grounds me and holds our most cherished childhood memories. To me they are home and after each season of hockey they are what drew me back to this city. Now as a parent of two young children I can only hope I am creating this same sense of strength and stability that they will one day always call home.

The other perspective I see the idea of home through is the cage of my goalie mask. My hockey career was pretty unique in the fact that I played all of my hockey on the male side of the game. I played minor hockey with the boys all the way through Junior A and then played five years of pro with men. Through my younger years it was easy as all the boys I played with were my friends from the neighbourhood and school. I was comfortable with them and they were comfortable with me. Things were a bit different once I began to get pro tryouts. Here I was, in my early twenties flying off to some US city to try out for a team of complete strangers, all of which were grown men. Walking into the dressing room on the first day of camp was always terrifying and I just couldn’t wait to get on the ice. My reason for wanting on the ice so bad was because that was “home” to me. It was my place of comfort, my strength, my stability. I knew what I was capable of on the ice and I felt safe there amongst all the strangers around me.

Home for me is rooted in comfort. It’s a place where I feel safe, strong, and at my best. It’s where I am surrounded by loved ones who support and encourage me. In terms of a place it will always be where my family is. In terms of a mindset it will always be behind the mask that shaped the person I am today.

Works Cited

“History.” Bakersfield Condors. Development by iSportsMedia, LLC. 2015. Web. 8 February 2016.

“What is the meaning of ‘Home is where the heart is?'” Quora. Quora. 21 July 2015. Web. 8 February 2016.

You’ll never believe what happened. A long time ago there was nothing but sunshine and the whole world was happy. The skies were blue, the grass was green, and the white puffy clouds danced in the sunlight. Now, when I say the whole world, I mean the whole world. North to South, East to West, every person and everything was love.

What was left unknown was the fact that as the sun followed its course it cast a shadow on the far side of the trees, the buildings, and the houses. And in these shadows lived a very unsavory character, an evil character to say the least. This character was full of darkness and hate toward all those who lived and loved in the sunshine. For many years this character tried to figure out a way to create the same sadness and fear that was felt in the shadows but the power of the sun was much too strong. Until one day the character decided to appear in front of all the happy people of the world. When they approached, the character would share the story of the shadows. The story spoke of darkness, fear and malice, disease and destruction. It chilled the happy people to the core and it began to grow within them. When they begged the unsavory character to take the story back they realized it couldn’t be done. The evil character had finally succeeded in spreading his darkness because, “of course, it was too late. For once a story is told, it cannot be called back. Once told, it is loose in the world.” (King 10).

I really enjoyed this weeks assignment even though I am not much of a story teller. I think I appreciate the lesson the short story conveys. Words are a powerful thing and if we look back in history they have done much damage by spreading like a disease causing hate and war around the world. A great example of this is found in the novel The Book Thief. It’s a great read and I recommend it to all of you.

What I found most interesting when telling my story to people is that it really made them think about the power of stories. I guess we all grow up hearing stories but few of us realize how much weight they carry. It was fun to share this new found knowledge with those who are close to me. Especially my children, as I hope they become young critical thinkers, a skill I wish I had learned at a much younger age.

Works Cited

King, Thomas. The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative. Peterbough:Anansi Press. 2003. Print.

Price-Mitchell, Marilyn. “Critical Thinking: How to Grow Your Childs Mind.” Roots of Action: Visualscope, 6 June 2011. Web. 1 February 2016.

“The Book Thief Official Trailer #1 (2013) – Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson Movie HD.” Youtube. Youtube, 21 August 2013. Web. 1 February 2016.