While attempting to write this column, I began it in several different ways. None of which felt real and true. All of which felt like I was writing something I thought you all might want to hear, rather than something genuine. So, here goes nothing.
I am writing this while sitting in my childhood bedroom because I am “home for the holidays.” It’s weird how, as you grow up, you can gain so many different concepts of home. This is my home. The house where I grew up. The house that saw me through all sorts of phases and ages, ups and downs. The house that has known me since I was 4-years-old. But my college apartment is also home. The apartment that I share with a roommate that has also become a best friend. The apartment where wine and Kraft mac and cheese are essentials. The apartment where coming home means talking to my best friend about my day and mornings are equivalent to having coffee on the balcony so the cat can venture outside to birdwatch.
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Home doesn’t even always mean a place with a roof or a warm bed. Sometimes it’s just the people that feel like home to you. I always thought this was a cheesy concept, but in recent years, I think I’ve begun to understand it more. Now, I honestly think it is such a beautiful concept because when you find your people that feel like home, you never want to be apart from them or lose them. I think we all find a handful of these people in our lifetimes, whether they are best friends, family members or significant others. It’s one thing to make someone feel safe and happy when they are with you, but it’s truly a feat if you are “home” to someone else.
So, as I sit here surrounded by all my childhood memorabilia, listening to the hum of lawnmowers and cars outside my window, interspersed with the distant barking of neighbors’ dogs, I ask you, what does home mean to you? It may be a simple question with a simple answer for some people. But for others, you may realize that your definition of home is one that ebbs and flows like the tide, ever-shifting and changing to encompass new people or places. It surely isn’t a simple answer for me.
Well, I’ve rambled enough about home and if you’re still reading this, thank you for taking the time to read the thoughts of a soon-to-be college graduate who is still shaping her own understanding of “home.” I hope my words have provided some sort of comfort or perhaps afforded you a new appreciation for those in your life that feel like home.
