Make Yourself at Home

Make Yourself at Home


What does the word “home” hold for you? The truth is that its meaning can diverge a bit depending on the cultural traces of each person and considering personal experiences that each of us possess. Therefore, the main point of the next lines is to give a general idea of what “home” actually means, having also the intention of clarifying.
To begin with, the most accessible idea we generally have nowadays of home is that it is a place where we can have our relaxed meals and a place where we have a warming bed waiting for us, among other examples. However, we cannot deny a range of different theories related to the significance “home”. We can illustrate this by bringing back the ways of life of the Romans and Greeks. To these people, home was considered a sacred space where women gave birth and took care of children until they were prepared to face life. But we may not need to look back as far as this situation is still a reality in eastern countries, for instance, where the roles of women are basically focused on bringing up their children at home and doing the housework without having the right to live their lives fairly. So as consider these situations it seems that home has not always been such a pleasant place to be.
On the contrary, home can be considered “home sweet home”. In other words, not everything related to home has a negative perspective of domination or a tendency of repression over others. In fact, home is mostly seen as the perfect place where people usually feel good and comfortable with themselves. Home is the symbol of joy where unhappiness usually does not exist. Home invites people to explore their deepest thoughts and to deliberate their personal decisions in a much better way because home is mainly regarded as a peaceful place. Home is synonymous with privacy, giving opportunity for people to speak their minds freely and to socialize. Home is principally related to family and education. Since we are young we are given rules and good manners of how to behave in society. Those rules we learn with our family, the most important pillar associated with home. Home is like a refuge from society. Plus, it’s a place where we can seek love, support, security, shelter, our intimate space and our well-being. For some moments, home can have a special gift of drawing back.
Nevertheless, home may be linked to a certain mystery where one can behave and decide whatever he wants to without being spied on or judged.
Lastly, how do I see home? “A treasure that has been given to us” is my main thought. The truth is that more than just the place itself, home for me cannot be disassociated from my country, from my city. I am filled with a feeling of patriotism each time “home” is mentioned. Furthermore, “home” is the place that watched me growing; the place that gave me a lot of unconditional love as well as presented me with my first lessons of the world around me as far as life is concerned. In addition, home is where I can be myself. Home is my shelter, my cure for the annoyances of life. Whenever I’m far away from it, it’s like a part of me has been left behind and at the same time an empty feeling invades my heart. I’m lucky to have my own space, my privacy and my family all together at home. Plus, my home is the place that taught me to respect different cultures and different perspectives of life. For example, as my mother is French she has always had the interest to open my horizons to other languages, to other countries and cultures so I have learnt to respect other individuals.
To sum up, we should all express our gratitude everyday just for the simple fact that we have a place that welcomes us and never shuts doors on us. We should all bear in mind that not everyone has the chance to know what home means as far as its metaphorical sense is concerned. We are “born” firstly at home given that it is there that we discover our first steps towards the light that is life. Home is so our cradle for life.


Celina