For this assignment I used these 6 posts as the bases for my reflection:
Maya found home in being around loved ones, a place where she felt safe.
Emilia said she was unsure of what is home, but it was family, a childhood house, habits, locations/objects of similarities (she went to Italy and was reminded of the Okanogan beach and mountains) that gave her comfort.
Jade saw home as being a part of history, grandparents, best friend, routines, locations, and familiar objects.
Ari, wrote about finding home in extended family and past culture (she found home in her extended family back in England), finding the place that makes you most comfortable.
Gaby sees home as a place to be yourself, found in friends and people we enjoy being around.
Chino was more interested in the activities/habits that are repeated, and being with friends and family.
Through reading the blog posts by my classmates I found some interesting similarities and a few common differences. The core similarities I found in the blogs I examined was: that home incorporated some form of loved ones, people that we enjoy being around, a few others spoke about societies or cultures they felt connections too and the general ‘feeling’ of acceptance.
The different perspectives are in the specifics, now that’s to be expected, as we don’t all live the same life. But because of this diversity in specifics, we can examine more clearly our common ideas of the meaning of ‘home,’ as these similarities are more obvious when we realize we all see home the same way, but we have never experienced the same type of home.
I’d first like to speak about my assumptions before I started reading these blogs. I assumed that people would mention their family, habits, companionship and such. I assumed that location would be some of the main differences and culture as well. Generally I was right, everyone choose individuals such as their family or friends as a prime core of what it ‘home’ meant to them.
Though I found my assumptions shaken when I came across Jade’s post. She mentions that she’s moved around a lot and that growing up she’s never really felt at ‘home,’ but recently discovered it through going to visit extended family in England. She feels more at home in England with her extended family, which was a big contrast to all others, who though did find home in people, generally found it in the place they were raised or had spent an extended period of time in. In my life, I’ve generally moved around a lot, but found home in Vancouver with my immediate family. To me, my extended family represents family, but doesn’t really represent home, as I’ve been so disconnected from them growing up.
I do find another point Jade made interesting, it’s how she related to the history and culture of England over Canada. Belonging seems to be the best world to describe this and it’s very prevalent in our course, as history is made of the stories that we tell ourselves. Seeing yourself within a society and in extension their story is powerful, because these stories represent complicated feelings of belonging and identification. Because we feel that we belong, we identify with that story.
I also generally thought that location would be less empathized and the responses would be more conceptual. The ideas of family and being around people, such as Maya’s post. But I a few did emphasize the location some people have grown up in the same location all the life in that specific area represents their home. Others travelled and that could be seen in their response. They generally say that it is not the place but the people that they find home in.
Then others mentioned more of the traditions and habit they have at home, which I related a lot, as that was the main core of my own story. These habits and traditions are told in small short stories within the larger post. Gaby and Chino showed this the most, giving short stories of their daily rituals, highlighting the processes of a home, the interactions and the traditions. This gives these everyday actions deeper significant meaning. We all go to class and hang out with friends than go home and to them they recognized these actions of creating space and routine as another part of what a home signifies.
Reference:
ArianneRobbins, ‘Assignment 2:2 The Feeling Of Home | Ari’s Canadian Literature Blog’ <https://blogs.ubc.ca/ariannerobbins/2020/01/28/assignment-22/> [accessed 3 February 2020]
‘Assignment 2:2: Home | ENGL 372: Oh Canada’ <https://blogs.ubc.ca/emiliabrandoli/2020/01/29/assignment-22-home/> [accessed 3 February 2020]
‘Assignment 2.2: Home – English 372: Canadian Literature’ <https://blogs.ubc.ca/crodriguezengl372/2020/01/28/assignment-2-2-home/> [accessed 3 February 2020]
‘Assignment 2.2- Stories, People, and Nature: What Home Means to Me – Canadian Literary Genres’ <https://blogs.ubc.ca/jadegreer/2020/01/29/assignment-2-2/> [accessed 3 February 2020]
Canada!, Ooh, ‘OOH CANADA!’ <https://blogs.ubc.ca/mayasumel/?fbclid=IwAR1w85yXANyUMyo4fZZxkbO_QqLl6mdv6AGe4ubI6mCeX69ajJhS3jE6Iyw> [accessed 3 February 2020]
Humor, Beverly Jenkins Beverly Jenkins is a, pop culture writer She has published three web humor books, Six Calendars, including You Had One Job!, and Photobombed., ‘20 Of The Best Stick-Figure Family Car Window Decals Ever Made’, LiveAbout<https://www.liveabout.com/best-funny-stick-figure-decals-4140773> [accessed 3 February 2020]
‘The Story of Home – Explorer Gaby’s Blog’ <https://blogs.ubc.ca/gabyliteratureexplorer/2020/01/28/the-story-of-home/> [accessed 3 February 2020]