Home is where the heart is. I probably broke about 46 rules to writing by starting with a cliche, but it’s quite the apt description on my feelings and definition towards the word “home”.  Unlike many indigenous people of Canada and their stories that we’ve been learning about, my attachment and stories are not nearly connected to land as they are to people. This perspective may gradually change as I grow, but my surroundings and environment has always played a the role of a facilitator that allows me to create stories with the people that I value.

The best way to illustrate this perspective and how it may differ from others is – of course – with a story:

I have fairly fond memories of my childhood. One particular location I have birthed many stories that have shaped my childhood was the playground of my elementary school. I still currently live close to that particular playground, but every time I pass by it, I can’t help but feel how my stories are buried among many generations of children that have since created stories on the same playground as well.

I have memories of myself meeting many of my first friends of my life for the first time.  Like how I met Daniel playing four-square on one side of the playground on one of my first days at this new school, and later on running in to him again in the soccer field, only to find out that it was Daniel’s twin brother David. A young Lucas that had not yet completely grasped the idea of “twins” briefly believed in teleportation that day.

I remember the first time I mustered up the courage to slide down the faux fire-man pole and twisted my ankle.

Or the man times I played grounders with my friends and ended up peeking when it was my turn. I never enjoyed that game, but as the new kid, I went along with it because everyone else was playing it. It’s where I met friends like Brendan, Alborz, Mitchell, William and Matthew.

The four-square court is where I really acquired some confidence as it was my best playground game and where I spent most of my recesses and lunch, after learning it in later years of my elementary school life.

I pass by that playground from time to time still, and it serves as a time capsule for me that allow me me to relive those stories, with those people, and momentarily grant me the feelings of the same innocence and youth.  But when I attempt objectively analyze my own sentiments and state of mind, I believe it wouldn’t matter which playground it was back then, and it the playground itself certainly has little personal meaning to me now.

To me, the opposite feeling of “homey” is loneliness.  I’ve undoubtedly felt homey in foreign places with the people I value. As a Canadian-born-Chinese, that was born and raised in Vancouver, I have little experience and stories with the city of Guangzhou, China, the city where my parents grew up and also where much of my family reside. I’ve probably been to Guangzhou less than ten times in my life for very short periods of time. But rarely have I felt unsafe or lonely in my time there as my family there to make it home for me, despite almost every other aspect of living being alien to me. And thus, I certainly have many stories tied to a place I’m also unfamiliar with. In a large way (but not fully), Guangzhou has been home for me.

On the flip side, I’ve also felt loneliness, unfamiliarity and barrenness in the very city I was born and raised in; including my very own home. Again, objectively speaking, I think it’s largely due to the people that I miss, who inserted life, stories and feeling into the place. If home is where the heart is, then I think my heart is with people.

Lastly, I’d like to leave you with a song I haven’t listened to in some time, but the prompt of this blog topic definitely allowed me to relive it. Hopefully some of you may share the same sentiment of “home” in the song as I do.

Cheers,
Lucas

Trip on Tube : China Trip (中国) Episode 15 – Guangzhou (广州) [HD]. Prod. Trip on Tube. Youtube.          Youtube, 24 Jan. 2015. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.

Magnetic North, and Taiyo Na. Song. Japan: Goon Trax/Media Factory, n.d. MP3.