In my last nineteen years of life, I have had a number of places in which I have called home.
I consider my first home to be where my parents brought me after I was born. We lived in the top story of a two story house which was shared with a very nice old woman. Most of my memories from that home are with my mom and dad since I am the oldest in my family. A few years later, we moved into another house in the Bay Area in the rural hills. It was dark at night, fairly quiet, and full of wildlife. The wildlife in that neighborhood was my favorite growing up. My fondest memory in that house was learning how to ride my bike and meeting my little brother and sister. After that, we made a big move to Southern California and I ended up living there for about eight years. I thought that I would call this place home for the rest of my life until we moved back to the Bay Area before high school.
The move from Southern California to Northern California the summer before high school was one of the hardest things I have done. I was conflicted about what/where I called home. I had left behind friends and family in Southern California which makes a place really feel like a home, not just a house. On the other hand, I was born and partly raised in Northern California and my parents were happier there. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school, that my house there really felt like it was a home.
Lastly, the move to Eugene was better than I had thought. The thought of moving into a dorm with hundreds of other students scared me to death. I loved having my own space and quiet. However, with the help of my roommate, the dorms felt like home within just a few months. Now, I am settled into an apartment with my best friend and live here ten months out of the year. Now I call this place my home. Home is somewhere where you are surrounded by people you love and somewhere that you can create special memories.
February 7, 2018 at 3:29 am
I really enjoyed reading this blog post and can relate to quite a number of things you discussed. Like moving to a new location right before high school not knowing anyone and having to leave behind your old friends. I completely agreed with your statement in the end of the post saying that a home really does feel like a home when you are surrounded by the ones you love and feel most comfortable with. The people you surround yourself with make all the difference in how you view and experience home.
February 10, 2018 at 12:50 am
I loved the personal story you tell in this post, I too can relate to moving to a new place before high school and feeling a little lost. However, I find the idea of moving to be exciting and a chance at a fresh start. Perhaps this is because my family moved quite often and I have never lived somewhere for longer than three years. I think your take on the concept of home is absolutely true, home to me is ever changing but it entirely relies on the people I surround myself with and the memories I can make.