Home isn’t where we came from. It’s where we want to stay.
Margarita Diaz
“I found my island. I’ve been on it this whole time. I’m home.”
In the Heights
“There’s no place like home.”
The Wizard of Oz
Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz,
Usnavi from In the Heights,
and maybe even you and I
have at some point gone searching for “home.”
Searching to find it,
or to define it,
but ultimately,
to feel peace around it.
This past summer I saw a movie, In the Heights, that examines this notion of home from different angles. It looked at this desire to go back to “where we are from” (a homeland), when “where we belong” (a home) might be much closer than we think.
Our experiences as immigrants, children of immigrants, expats or anyone who’s moved around are varied, but if we’ve ever searched for home, I’m willing to bet we felt some unrest until we found it.
Defining home is as simple as stating an address for some and as philosophical as defining “happiness” for others.
And when we grow up away from our parents’ cultures, it can get even more confusing.
🌪 Some of us have never lived in our parents’ homelands.
🌪 While others haven’t felt at home since we left it.
🌪 Some never felt at home where we were born, grew up or came from.
🌪 Some have learned to carry home with us by bringing our cultures and connections with us wherever we go.
🌪 And some have found a home within ourselves, no matter where we are.
So I wondered how you all feel about home and I ask:
❓Is home for you a place you return to, find, or bring with you?
❓Do you feel at home now?
For me:
🌈 “Home” is whatever definition causes us the least stress.
🌈 It can still be a “where,” even if the where isn’t a fixed, singular location.
🌈 Home is that place that evokes a longing when I’m away that exceeds my sense of belonging where I find myself that day, and
🌈 Home isn’t necessarily where we came from. It’s where we want to stay.
New York City is my home. What’s yours?
