Courtney DavisOctober 2, 2014
Bethany Quest IIIFirst Essay
What is Home?
The definition of home is the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household or an institution for people needing professional care or supervision. This definition describes home in the most basic form that truly has no other meaning. The first definition does not take into account the millions of people who possibly do not have a permanent residence or who has no family. It seems to suggest home is a place without personal value; well I think that the term home has a considerably large amount of personal significance that give it a different definition depending on each individual.
Home is a place that one would want to go to. “I just want to go home”, clearly indicates a want to go to a certain place. This goes back into the notion that home does not specifically have to be a house. There are plenty of people who feel at home in places that are nowhere close to a permanent residence. There are some people who live in the city, but feel like they are at home when they visit the mountain side. To feel at home, I think, constitutes being at home no matter where it may be. It is a place where people can be content or possibly happy.
Home is a place where one could live according to who they feel that they are. Home is a place of expression. It may seem like this is only true for those who own their own house and can decorate it according to their personal preference. This is true; however, the beginning statement could be true for people growing up in their own household. This is because they are discovering who they want to be starting in a home. Of course, there are some people who grow in troubled households, but that in turn shapes them into who they turn out to be. Each person has the power to decide who they want to be and the home provides them a place to grow into the person they want to be. Then if the possibility arises for people to have their own residence, that personal expression can be projected through different means of lifestyle choice. Their residence then becomes a home, not because it is a permanent structure where they live, but because they are living their life according to their preference.
The human race thrives on the relationships with each other. The only reason the world has any significance is because there are people to share life and life experiences with; the world would be mighty lonely and boring if there were only one person. That is the general reason why people are so important in each individual’s life. The home doesn’t have to solely revolve around a standing house; it can be considered a home because of the people and relationships that reside there. Family can be considered the main reason a place is considered home, but there are other relationships i.e. friendships, partnerships, and citizenship that play a major role in the recognition of a home. There are some people who have very strong ties to their family and there are also some people who do not. For some people, the strongest relationships they have are with the friends that they have which makes the place where they have their family their home. I firmly believe that “it is the people that make the place.”
All of that plays on the cliché, home is where the heart is and I know exactly where my heart lies. Because my life seems to be constantly changing, I consider myself to have two completely separate homes. The first being 55632 East 27th Place, Strasburg, CO 80136 in a small, brown two-story house in a town nick-named “Tiny Town”. I consider this place to be my home because that is a place where I feel happy. Even though I