Home. What is home for me? When I was younger, home was tough to define. I didn’t exactly know where to call home because maybe I felt there wasn’t one particular place that I could commit to or set as such. My parents divorced when I was in grade 4, so home became two different places, two provinces. I grew up moving, constantly re-arranging my life to fit in with something new, something different. So then where was home? I was born in Guelph, Ontario, but my parents decided to move back to BC. They met in Whistler, my Mom coming from Guelph Ontario and my Dad from Steveston, though originally Hong Kong, Macau. We lived in Pemberton for a few years, then Furry Creek, and finally laid down roots in Squamish. This finally felt like home. But I was so young, so my idea of home had more to do with the people I surrounded myself with; my friends, sisters, my Dad’s family, and this was what I became acquainted with. Home had more to do with who I was with versus the place I resided. But not long after, that changed. My parents decided to make a big move to Ontario so my Mom could be closer to her family, but my sisters and I sacrificed our friends and family in return. Yet, we were young and used to change so the thought of moving somewhere new was exciting. A year later, my parents divorced, and my Dad moved back to BC, and we stayed with our Mom in Ontario. This was when my idea of home became skewed because the people that made me feel at home were separated. I ached for my life back in BC when I was surrounded by my family and friends, I missed my grandparents, who were, and still are, such a big part of my life and without that comfort, I didn’t feel at home.

A few years passed, and my parents remained in two different provinces with my Dad coming out to visit every month. We went back to BC to visit twice a year, and each visit felt more and more like home, which made it extremely hard to leave and readjust in Ontario. I knew Ontario wasn’t my home, even though I was with my Mom, sisters, and friends, it could never compare to the attachment I had formed with BC. Around grade eight, I came to understand what defined my sense of home, which was more than just a house. I felt home when I was back in a place that I grew up in, and not necessarily concerning a specific town or community, but the landscape, the trees, mountains, the ocean, the air. These aspects became a part of who I was at a young age and being removed from something I became familiar with took away my sense of home. I grew up with my Dad’s family, his parents and siblings, so they also accounted for my sense of home, and going back to my grandparent’s house was one of the most prominent reminders of home for me because home was familiarity. I moved back out to BC with my sisters in grade eight to live with our Dad, and even though my Mom stayed behind, I understand that Ontario is her home, just as BC is mine. No matter where I’ve travelled to or considered re-locating, I always come back to BC, Vancouver. Even though I’ve moved from place to place, a house doesn’t define my sense of home; it’s the people I’m with and the familiar surroundings that make up home for me.

Works Cited:

“Macau.” Lonely Planet, https://www.lonelyplanet.com/china/macau

“Villiage of Pemberton” Pemberton, https://www.pemberton.ca