Home is one of those things I didn’t really think about until I went to college. After a few months at Drexel, I remember talking to some of my friends about which place we referred to as home – our dorm or our house. Looking back, I don’t know why we were trying to pick one or the other. I’ve realized home is not so much the location but rather the people and memories you surround yourself with, and it’s okay to have more than one.
My current house with my family has been home for the longest, but I know I’ve been influenced by other homes as well. We moved from Massachusetts when I was 5, but I remember more than I expected. It wasn’t until late elementary school that I realized every time I read a book that was set in a house that wasn’t described in much detail, I pictured our house in Massachusetts. I always pictured my favorite character or the one I could relate to the most having my bedroom. I still do this, though I’m more conscious of it now. When I go over to some of my friends’ houses, it’s like being home. Their families are my other families. If they know I’m coming, I know it’s pretty much expected that I’ll let myself in instead of knocking and that I know where the glasses and drinks are just like I do in my own house. By the second half of freshman year, it was easy to consider my dorm at school a second home. I was surrounded by great friends, including my roommate and other people on my floor. This year, when I was back at Drexel for only three months and living with a stranger who was hardly there, it was harder to think of it as home. She was nice, but there was not the kind of connection that I associate with places I call home. Right now, I call Maryland home. I live in an area with a balance of trees/nature and convenience. We have space and privacy, but it doesn’t take too long to get to a gas station or grocery store. I went to great public schools where I met many of the amazing friends I mentioned in my last post and I learned enough that I actually felt prepared for college, unlike quite a few of my peers from other school systems. DC, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Harpers Ferry can all be day trips. Same with Hershey Park or Kings Dominion and the beach or mountains. I love being in the city for college since I don’t have a car but once I settle down, I picture myself returning to somewhere with more green space and less traffic. I don’t know where that will be, but it will be home as long as I’m with people I love. How do you define home? Do you have more than one?
2 Comments
4/10/2015 12:22:05 pm
Lovely post, and I agree with your concept of home. I grew up in several different countries, and in several houses within most of those countries. I learned at a pretty young age that home is where your family and the people you care about are. The rest is just sticks and stones. :)
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The Worst Best Thing
4/12/2015 12:03:34 pm
Wow, that's a lot of houses! It's definitely a good lesson to learn early though. Thanks for stopping by!
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AuthorI’m Karen. I was originally diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in August 2004 when I was 10 years old. When I was working on my college and scholarship application essays two years ago, I wrote about my journey. Although it was a rough few years, it became such an influential part of my life that I can’t, and wouldn’t want to, imagine my life without having had cancer. I called it the worst best thing that ever happened to me. Archives
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