The Meaning of Home

The Meaning Of Home What is the meaning of home? There are a lot of things that make me feel at home, like my bed, my family and friends, food, and shelter. This year my class read Home Of The Brave and A Long Walk To Water, and it made me think about the meaning of home. Kek and Salva lost their families and their sense of home until they went to America to restart their lives. Three main things mean home to me: home is a place to belong with friends and family, home is the places I’ve lived, and home is where I can be myself. Home is a place to belong with friends and family. People and friends make me feel at home with their kindness, love, and protection. I have lived in many different houses, but no matter where I am, my family has always been there for me. That makes me feel at home. In the book A Long Walk To Water, Salva’s family died, and he had to travel from place to place in the middle of Sudan during the war with no family. He lost his place to belong with friends and family. Finally, he went to America, and a new family welcomed him with open arms and treated him like he was their son. In the book, Home of the Brave, Kek’s dad told stories to make friends and family laugh and made Kek feel safe and at home. Then the war came and Kek lost his family too. Kek lost his “home,” but later he found a new home with his aunt and cousin. Friends and family help you feel at home no matter where you are. Home is the places I’ve lived: the Philippines, Russia, Turkey, America, and now Canada. Each place I have lived always has memories of that place and the things we did every day. In Turkey we used to have to walk ten minutes everyday to print out pages for homework, because we didn’t have a printer. In Russia we used to ride the metro every day to and from school. In America we went roller-skating every week and were a part of a good church community. Canada is starting to feel like home as we get to know our school community and spend time with friends ice skating and going to Wonderland every now and then. In the novels we read, both boys, Kek and Salva, had to move to America and restart their lives and learn a lot, but in every place they made new friends and new memories that encouraged them and helped them feel like home. When Kek saw the cattle at Lou’s farm, he felt like the two places he lived connected. When Salva went back to Sudan to help his people get clean by building wells, he felt like he was going home. Every place you’ve lived and left, leaves a place in your heart that reminds you of home. Home is where I can be myself. Home is the place where I know my family will comfort me in the hard times with a cup of hot chocolate or letting me just talk or feel sad. Home is the place where I can be silly by doing front flips in the snow in shorts, and I know we will all laugh together. Home is where I can relax and rest well without anxiety, because my family accepts me. Kek and Salva finally found “home” again when they could be themselves without fear. When Kek made the mistake of putting dishes in the washing machine and they all broke, he was able to simply laugh at himself with his friend, instead of crying. Salva could finally be himself without fear when he found out he was going to be safe from the war. Home is when you don’t have to worry about what people think of me. Home means a lot of things to a lot of people. To me home is a place to belong with friends and family, home is the places I’ve lived, and home is where I can be myself. Salva and Kek lost their home, but later found home again with a new family, a new place, and in being who they were. This is what I think home is all about not video games or tv or anything else; it is about family and how you spend time with them.