“Going home” is a concept that varies wildly between each person. Home can be taken in either a metaphysical sense, a physical sense, or even a combination of the two. I believe that there is a spectrum ranging from completely physical (i.e. a house) to completely emotional (i.e. family), and everyone’s “home” is somewhere on that scale depending on each person. It can be affected by many factors, with the primary one being how a person grew up. I grew up moving to a new house every few years in different countries, so I have learned not to grow accustomed to a physical place for being my home, as it is constantly changing. Therefore my “home” is very close to the emotional end of the spectrum. For me, “going home” is returning back to my family and our peaceful but constantly evolving house. However, others who have grown up primarily in one house tend to have a more physical sense of home. Based on our recent class discussion, many feel that their home is the place in which either they or their relatives live. In addition, at the beginning of the year, many people drew their physical house as home. Both interpretations of home are valid, but I feel that it all boils down to the climate in which one grows up that determines where “home” is. “Going home” also can vary, as some people have more than one home, whether that is a group of people, a house, a city, or even an entire country. When I “go home” everyday after school, I am walking from school to my house. When I “go home” over break, I am flying to Houston to visit my grandparents. Every few years, I “go home” to London, my birthplace. Although my current “home” is mainly my close family, I have many homes throughout the world that become “home” at different times. As I grow up and live life, I expect to have many new places to call “home” - my old high school, my college, my house, and so on. “Going home” is a loose term that has many different meanings for different people that constantly evolves and adds new meaning to itself.In class on Friday, we shared each other's essays on what "home" means. I shared with Ben, and, as I expected, he held a much more physical sense of home in his mind. Ben has grown up in one house, so he considers his home to be primarily his house, as well as his state and country. This physical place has always been where he is most comfortable and free, so he associates that with "home". This differed for me, as no one house has become a place of comfort for me, but rather the people and small memories within my house that travel with me.
One interesting idea that Ben brings up is that people cannot be "home" because they are constantly changing and are not a stable place that we can come back to, as they will never be the same, unlike a house. Although this point is true, I feel that it only strengthens their connection to "home" even more, as my idea of home is also constantly evolving. My family and I experience our lives together, so when an experience changes us all, my idea of home changes with that too. It is also this aspect that allows me to feel more comfortable, as anything wrong can be changed. While Ben prefers a stable house that he is always able to return to, I find security in my constantly evolving metaphysical "home".