Last week, my dad asked me what I thought the definition of home was. Being the nerdy smart-ass, I instantly quoted Captain Hammer from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog and said that home is where the heart is and thus, home is in your chest. The next morning, my dad and I had a bit more of a lengthy conversation about what home meant and now that I’m heading back to Portland, I’ve been thinking more about what home means.
Growing up (and I say that in the loosest sense), I always considered home to be a place. Home was my house in the town I’ve spent all of my life in. It was the swings, forts, and trees in my backyard and the llamas next store. It was the teeter totter in the front yard and the mail box my mom painted. Home was playing baseball with family and friends on the weekends in the nearby playground and basketball in my driveway. It was hiking with the same family and friends all over and playing different games on the beaches and parks. It was celebrating holidays and birthdays with extended family.
This was home for me; one filled with laughter and smiles, with the outdoors, and most importantly, with love.
Then, I graduated high school and moved to Portland to go to university. My definition of home started to change. Home became where I grew up and where my parents lived. In Portland, home was something I referenced but didn’t experience every day. During this time, home became a place filled with memories of the past.
As time has gone on, my definition of home has constantly changed. I’ve spent more time travelling, whether that be back and forth between school and my hometown or to far off places half way across the world.
More and more, home has become a state of being rather than a physical place.
To go back to the beginning, home has become more of where the heart is for me over the past year or so. Home is where I feel comfortable, whether that be in a local coffee shop in North Portland, in a Starbucks in Amsterdam, or with my family where I grew up. Home is where I feel love and acceptance, where I feel peace and acceptance but I am still challenged to be a better person.
Home doesn’t have to mean where you grew up or where you’re family lives. Home is however you like to describe it.
"Never make your home in a place. Make a home for yourself inside your own head. You’ll find what you need to furnish it – memory, friends you can trust, love of learning, and other such things. That way it will go with you where you journey". – Tad Williams
