Home is Not Just A Place

Home is a word that I believe people use in the wrong sense every day. People say “Yeah this is my home”, while indicating their house, but I don’t think that a home has to be a house. I love my home, it is the place that allows me to feel safe, and it is my favourite place in the world. I believe that home is a place where you can be yourself, where people love, and respect you for who you are, and where you are included. Home does not need to be a place, but a sensation that you feel inside yourself. Home is a place where you are with the people you are closest to, whether that be your family, your friends, your neighbours, or any other people you care about the most. When you are at home, you should be in a place where people love, respect, and include you, no matter what. A home should be a safe place, where you are loved, because if you are not loved, how can you be happy? A home should be a place where you can laugh, cry, howl with joy, and escape your fears. Your home should be the spot where you go to seek refuge from a humiliation, or an accident that happened outside your safe place. When you tell the people in your home about what happened, they wouldn’t be mad, that would ask if you were okay. That may happen outside of your home as well, but with less sincerity, and more carelessness. A home does not need to be a place, but a sensation that you feel within yourself. This sensation can be carried with you, everywhere you go. You can escape to it when you are in a rough situation, a dilemma, when you want to be happy, or when you just want to know and feel how much people care about you. A home is a sensation to carry with you wherever you go, and a feeling to hold tight to your core whenever you need a reminder of anything pleasant, helpful, and strong. Home does not need to be a place with family, though it can, it should be a place where you are with the people that you are closest to, and that can be your friends, your neighbours, your family, or anyone else that makes you feel safe, happy, and like you can be yourself. You should be able to be loved, and know that you are important, and feel safe with these people. You can be with whoever makes you feel worthy, safe, respected, and loved, and these people can be your choice. I believe that home is the most important place in the world. I love my home, my family is in my home, but my home is not a fixed building, it is a presence, sensation, and that is irreplaceable. Chloe Stebbing