WHAT DOES HOME MEAN TO YOU? Written by Shione What does home mean to me? Sincerely, as a 10 year old child I never thought about this question. I tried hard to think of an immediate answer to this question by looking around me but my mind was not coping at all. I was left without nothing to say and write and kept staring at an empty page. What is the meaning of this small word made up of just 4 letters but probably has a lot of meaning? The one thing that kept coming to my mind was that each time my father comes back from work related traveling, being few days or whole weeks away, I hear him tell my mother “No matter what, there is no place like home. It’s when you are away from home you realize the true meaning of a parent’s love and family.” For me travelling is something out of this world and nice to experience but contrary to my opinion it seems that my father thinks differently and prefers being at home, with us. With these words fixed in my mind I realized that the answer to this question lies within the heart and not the mind. Immediately I started getting answers to the meaning of home. The answer was always right here with me. Being a girl, I grew up being a big fan about the Disney’s princesses. Their stories and especially their songs all revolve about dreams, love and especially home. One song that literally is about home is sung by the Disney princess Belle in the Beauty and the Beast musical. The title of this song is “Home” and below is a piece from its lyrics: “Is this home? Is this where I should learn to be happy? Never dreamed That a home could be dark and cold I was told Ev'ry day in my childhood: Even when we grow old Home will be where the heart is Never were words so true! My heart's far, far away Home is too”
The song is about Belle chooses to take the place of her father and becomes a prisoner in the Beast’s castle. In “Home” Belle sings about the castle she now has to live in, what home is and whether she could ever be happy in her new home. Her explanation of home is where one learns to be happy and not a dark and cold place. For Belle “home is where the heart is”. So I got it right. Home lies within our hearts and that both the heart and home cannot stay away from each other. Therefore home has a different meaning for everyone. For some home means familiar landscapes, sounds and smells, a common language, sense of belonging and security, orientation, privacy, acceptance and a safe place. Between one person to the other there might be some similar meanings of home. These being family and friends, love, freedom, happiness, warmth and comfort. For others home is strongly connected to one particular place, their place of birth or where one can truly just be himself or herself. For me home is a place to live with my family and pets and enjoy with my friends. A place to build my experiences, my feelings, my wildest dreams, my hopes and my memories as well as a way to build my future. My current home started from the beating of two loving hearts and has grown to five living together under one roof. The walls of the apartment that I live in remain the same, but the people inside is what defines my home, my family. Family are those special people that love me without any boundaries. Now I am able to figure out what home really means to me. It’s not a building or a room, but a place where love lives. Home comes with the feeling of unconditional love, warmth and affection. Home is where the heart is. Before I stop writing about what does home means to me my mind starts to dwindle elsewhere. My thoughts go those many people who feel homeless.