A House is Not a Home, What is Home?

What is home?”, is a question asked by many, many people everywhere on this beautiful planet. A question asked by people from all walks of this beautiful life. A question asked for many beautiful years, beautiful decades even. But what is the answer? Alright, if you think a home is just drywall, steel, wood, insulation and shingles wrapped into one little structure, well my friend, you could not be farther from the truth. A home is not just about the birthdays or the holidays, it's about the happiness, the excitement, the laughter, and every other stupendous emotion and experience. Conclusion: A home is somewhere you enjoy glorious emotions and forge exquisite memories. Now- huh? You think that's all? *face palms and shakes head*. Another mark off! Remember: 3 strikes and you're ou- ahh just kidding that's not what a home’s about! What a home is about though, is family! Family is essential to a home, the siblings, the moms, the dads, or any variation and combination all count, but what matters the most is the bond with each and every member of the family. Conclusion: Family is essential to a home. If you have a mom or a dad or even close friends, it's the bond that matters most. A home has two more terrific qualities; one of which is love, beautiful, beautiful love. Family is dependent on love, love is dependent on family (really a symbiotic relationship if you ask me). A home needs love, that is why everybody (“everybody” includes you!) should feel loved, especially in their home. Love is an emotion that is mandatory in a home, when there is love there can be no separation of a family. Conclusion: A home is somewhere you feel loved. Traditions, our second terrific quality of a home, are not just holidays such as Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. Traditions are often some of the little wholesome things such as family dinners, Sunday drives, and cuddling pets before bed. They are also the goofy things like tacos on Tuesdays or poking fun at each other till we all hit the floor laughing. Traditions are important because of the emotions they form such as belonging, the love that the experience creates, as well as the family bond that these whimsical things we call traditions mold. Now don't get me wrong, a refuge is important to a home but the home is where the heart is, the heart is where the emotions, memories, family bond and love are. Habitat for Humanity has helped over 35 million people find and build a refuge so they can create their own home where they can practice their own traditions. Where they can feel that sense of love and belonging, and forge those memories that shall last a lifetime. I wrote this essay, and if the only thing it does is donate that automatic $10 to Habitat for Humanity, that's fine with me. But if it's a runner up then $1000 goes to Habitat for Humanity and that can change lives, but $30 000 for winning? That’s unfathomable! Anything helps for the beautiful charity that is Habitat for Humanity.