List of Common Assumptions/Values/Stories:

  • Home is a feeling, not a location
  • Home is fluid and changeable
  • You create your own home
  • Friends and family are the greatest structure that provide one with the sense of home
  • Moving is good, and it gives people an important lesson: you carry home with you
  • Home is almost synonymous with comfort and safety
  • It is not grand stories that make us feel ‘at home;’ instead, it is daily conversation with family and friends

While reading other students’ blogs, I was really struck by how everyone found home mostly in friends and family. As discussed in my blog post, I seek comfort in nature and geography, so I was surprised to see that many people care very little about location.

Having said that, I do agree that home is a feeling. Also, I agree that it is connected with safety and comfort. Personally, I believe that you begin to feel safe or at home when you begin to trust your surroundings. So, I do recognize that people do provide others with that; for example, having a strong constant family presence would provide immense comfort.

Also, in all of the blogs, senses were mentioned as a way of feeling at home. For example, smelling freshly baked bread may remind you of your mother and that would bring you a sense of home. I agree with this sentiment. It was not something I mentioned; however, I nodded excitedly while reading each blog post! I think that hearing, seeing, smelling something familiar has such an impact on the way we perceive our environment. A large-scale example would be if I was performing on stage, and found my boyfriend’s face in the crowd. I believe it would bring me immense calmness.

While I did agree with many of the shared ides, there were three main differences. I think other students’ think of home in a much more fluid way than I do. In my mind, home is so fixed in BC even though I have been in England for over a year now. While I do feel comfortable here, I would never describe it as my home. However, others mentioned how moving around demonstrated that home is not a place. This is probably the greatest difference I discovered.

Another difference I discovered was that in two of the blogs I read, they mentioned stories that bring them home are simple one’s told by their family/friends. I did not touch on this subject. Instead, I feel like the poetry I read in school (namely Romantic poetry) transports me home. While this is a difference, I do think both stories provide each of us with our own calmness.

The final difference I found was that all the blogs I read talked about creating home. However, I see it differently: I found my home. I thought this was very interesting, because it demonstrates how fluid other people view home. It illustrates how they are able to invent home out of their own energies. However, I don’t see it the same way. I believe home is fixed within a certain type of geography, and when I am away from it, I am not at home. In a way, I am envious of those who are able to create homes in foreign places. I think it is a wonderful skill.

All in all, I think it’s very interesting to read how other’s perceive home, and how they go about creating it.

________________________

I read:

ChloeLee’s blog

Michael’s blog

Jenny’s blog

Lucas’s blog