Reading through everyone’s blogs on the subject of home, it is immediately apparent how complex the idea of “home” can be! There was not a single post that seemed to say “this is exactly what home is and always has been for me, full stop.” Instead, there exists for everyone a combination of factors, both physical and intangible, that combine to form “home.”

As I read, I attempted to distill the values represented by the various stories, keeping a list as I went along. Once I was finished reading (which was an exceptionally enjoyable experience!), I arranged the common valued I had identified into a chart. The four values that were referenced in at least 5 posts (at least by my reading – this may change depending on your interpretation!) were: Comfort/Familiarity, Nature, Memories, and History. This really surprised me – not because I don’t consider those values intrinsic to my sense of home, but because other values which seem so crucial to me (for example, love, family, language, belonging) did not crop up as frequently. It just goes to show how varied “home” can be.

Despite this great wealth of variety, there were very few values that did not match in some way what my own interpretation of home is. Perhaps the closest thing to a difference to my own definition of home exists in Leo’s experiences in Japan, as I have no similar experiences to draw on, or Aidan’s description of childhood friends as offering a sense of home. Having moved over a dozen times, I’ve lost that connection – on the rare occasions that I see friends from my childhood, I tend to feel more out of place than at home, simply because we’ve grown apart. However, even though these experiences don’t directly resonate with my interpretation of home, I can understand very easily how they would for others; I, too, value being perceived as part of a community, and my childhood friends will forever have a place in my heart.

Additional values shared by two posts: support, responsibility, pets, fun, adventure, a “feeling” of home, independence, freedom, story, belonging/being understood, physical houses, space to relax/recharge.