Something that Karo said in her most recent blog post really resonated with me: “Home is where the heart has been.” In reading my fellow students’ stories about how they found their own definitions of home, this statement has been present in my mind. Maybe it will make more sense with a list of the three biggest similarities between these stories:
-Significance of family
-Impermanence of place
-Childhood influences
In each of these stories, the presence of family was vital to each writer’s definition of home. Whether it was a sibling, or grandparents, or friends that created that sense of family, every story I read agreed that home could not be the same without that intense connection. For myself, as well, family plays a huge role in where I feel most comfortable and at home. Without that feeling of unconditional love and support, it can be hard to feel secure in any environment.
Many of these writers found that they only came to think about what home means when home was taken away from them, or they had to leave for whatever reason. Uprooting your whole life to move to another country, or even just down the street, still threatens the stability of your home. Moving proves that home can change, whether it’s just the address that changes, or the people, that thought is frightening. I think we tend to think about what home means so that we know how to find it again, or at least know what to look for.
The impact of childhood experiences and what was considered ‘home’ as a child is also common to these stories, which makes sense considering the impact of family on a child. Many writers discussed their childhood homes, at least in contrast to the ones they have now. That element of nostalgia for a childhood home influenced what was important for the home they now have, or are looking for.
For all of these commonalities, however, each and every writer came to a different conclusion for what ‘home’ truly is. Geographical site was a factor for some, whereas for the most part geography mattered mostly in terms of proximity to close family members. Some of them built a new home in the people they found, while others watched the place they call home disappear.
If you Google image search “home,” all you get are pictures of generic looking houses, and maybe a movie poster. But clearly, a house does not make a home, and while not everyone defines home the same way, I think we all can agree that family is the most important ingredient.
WORKS CITED
Google Search. Google. 3 Oct 2016. Web. 3 Oct 2016.
Koivukangas, Karoliina. “Assignment 2.2 Home?” Karo’s Thoughts on Canadian Lit. 28 Sept 2016. Web. 3 Oct 2016.
Gif courtesy of the CW, via Geek and Sundry: geekandsundry.com/how-to-run-a-supernatural-dd-campaign/