What does 'home' mean to you?

[TwilitWolfy]

I have to write a five page essay on the topic. I have my own experiences to draw off of, but my other sources are all articles some people I've never heard of wrote.

I am quite interested in what you all think of when you hear the word "home". Is it more place or people? Good or bad? Why do you think you feel the way you do about home?

I really just want to know what you think. I feel my view is so warped now. I had lived in the same place for like six or seven years. That was home--the good and the bad memories there. Then I left for college and wanted to come home. But then my family all moved into a different house. I went there to go "home" and started feeling like it was all wrong... I came back to school and found out people weren't as kind as they seemed. (I'm back to not trusting anyone. It's lovely what you can learn about people by what they do when you aren't there.) Then I started to have this self predicament... Do I even have a home? (MR, I'm also curious about how you feel about our move.) It's so weird not really knowing where you belong.

Sorry if this seems like therapy or something. It's not supposed to be. But if you can bounce ideas off of me, I'll have an epic essay. And maybe some self peace.

[c0mp1337]

home... some sort of sanctuary that is only second to your inner sanctuary (your mind)

[TwilitWolfy]

Why is it a sanctuary to you?
What happens when you have no place to call sanctuary?

[c0mp1337]

it could be the place where you feel safe, it  at least you could keep yourself calm, do your personal stuff, meditate in peace....

[lern]

home is my castle, my transformer, my guardian, my fortress, my teritory. home is my nation, with peace terms all around it. Should a robber come in, i see it as war. Should a serial killer come in, I see it as an assassin seeking to assassinate this nation's leader.

[Del Kitty]

I suppose I find that home is where the heart is...

[Forklifter]

I think to me, it's a place where I feel like I belong, a place that if I was not there it'd be incomplete in a way.

[TwilitWolfy]

home is my castle, my transformer, my guardian, my fortress, my teritory. home is my nation, with peace terms all around it. Should a robber come in, i see it as war. Should a serial killer come in, I see it as an assassin seeking to assassinate this nation's leader.

I am disturbingly tempted to quote that in my paper.

Does the notion of 'home' or where it is change easily?

[MegaRock35]

Hopefully, the server won't crash this time...
Philosophy mode, ACTIVATE

First, let's look at the definition of home. Particularly, 1 and 2.

 1. a house, apartment, or other shelter that is the usual residence of a person, family, or household.

2. the place in which one's domestic affections are centered.

Okay, this tells us what it means, but not what it is.

I am quite interested in what you all think of when you hear the word  home . Is it more place or people?

Home is neither.

Home is a safe haven. It is a shelter from the outside world, the din and the cacophony, the chaos and the discord. It is the place where one feels safe, where one feels free from the pressures of society, from the judgmental eyes of the world.

Home is with your loved ones, the people you trust. They can be family, friends, peers... it really doesn't matter. As Del said, and as the cliche says,  Home is where the heart is.

Sometimes, however, home can be with no one, away from any other people.

Ultimately, it's really more of a mental state than anything. It doesn't matter where, it's that feeling you get that says,  I'm home.

Good or bad?

Good. People like to feel like they belong. It's good for your psyche. Even if you feel home in a bad place, it's probably still better than feeling like you have no home at all.

Why do you think you feel the way you do about home?

I think it's because I've never really thought of a place as home, so much as I have that state of being. I feel like I'm  home  even just in a hotel with my family, and I feel at  home  when I'm all alone.  Home  has always been pretty much anything to me, so long as I have that feeling of peace and ease.

MR, I'm also curious about how you feel about our move.

It's for the better, really. We're in a better neighborhood, and we're not going to be tight on money every month anymore. The house is run down, yes, but it's really not what makes this home. Not to me, at least.

[lern]

as a kid who's 16 years old and has lived in a total of 4-5 different houses throughout his lifetime, home is not equal to a house. a house can be a home but not all houses are homes. there are some who say home is where the heart lies, but I say home is where the territorial loyal cat claims territory for his own.







if you have no idea what that means and/or hate cats/don't know them too well, most street cats are loyal to where they live, not to their family or care-takers or whatever grabs them the best life. luring them with food will only lead them this far out of their territory; and clearly, their territory is their home. Occassionally, cat-packs seem to change and alter. Some cats move from one street to the other whereas other cats move in to this street; just like a family moving out of a street. And at first, the new neighbourhood cats will be as scared as a pussy cat, harr harr, but eventually, depending on the neighborhood, they might become laid-back, and stop fearing danger in their home.

>first hand experience.

[TwilitWolfy]

MR, your ideas helped me write another two pages for my essay. It's really interesting to think about.

[Death Dark]

Objectively, "home" is where one lives.

Subjectively, the denotation doesn't change, but the connotation does.

Humans, being emotional beings at our core, are subject to "feeling at home."  This is more of an emotional tie to the people and the location itself, but does not change whether a place is or is not their home.  Not to say this emotion should be ignored, for it will create emotional discomfort, but emotions have no real bearing on what something is or isn't.