Home, Where Are You?

I’d like to invite you to a brief experiment: Close your eyes and think of Home.

What does it evoke within you? Does a specific place appear in your mind? Do you see the faces of loved ones? Can you hear familiar voices? Perhaps even catch the aroma of your favorite dish? What is it?

When I close my eyes, Home becomes a feeling. A sensation so clear that I can see, hear, and taste every aspect of it.

But when I open my eyes, it disappears.

Home, where are you? 

Finding Home

Feeling Lost

Have you ever felt alone in a crowd? Well, feeling lost in your own home is similarly dreadful. As teenagers, this sensation often emerges naturally, as the home that was once a sanctuary of care can morph into a place where nobody seems to understand you.

Unfortunately, this feeling is not limited to teenagers alone. Regardless of where you are in your life journey, regardless of your achievements, the risk of feeling disconnected, misunderstood, and rejected within your own world remains real.

And then life happens, and suddenly, what once felt like home no longer does. 

The once safe haven transforms into an arena of conflicts.

Leaving Home

Puberty is nature’s way of equipping us with the courage to leave the family home, explore and establish our own lives. 

While that fearlessness may never fully diminish, as we grow older, we accumulate baggage that begins to weigh against our courage. Too much to lose, too much at stake.

Some people choose to stay, while others opt to leave. Both decisions require bravery. Staying in a conflict-ridden environment is never easy. Leaving can mean a turning point in your life, but you have no idea what dragons are awaiting you out there. 

The Dragon: Symbol of the ultimate challenge that we must face and overcome to achieve our goals.

Finding Home

I've chosen to leave and faced many dragons along the way. Small ones and big ones. I took some hitting, shed sweat, blood and countless tears. 

And here I am. A little older and a little wiser. 

And yet, still uncertain of where my home lies. 

Over the past few years, I have moved eight times and have lived in three different countries. In 2023, we moved to a place that initially seemed to offer stability. However, in an ever-changing world, stability reveals itself as mere illusion. 

I had to learn that home will never be a place but a feeling. 

It is the heart, not the house, that creates home. 

Home is not confined by walls but by the clarity of knowing who you are. 

Knowing your true self is the cornerstone of finding your home. 

Home, Where Do You Hide? 

Home, where are you? 

There are moments when I feel at home. These instances are rare and often feel like a dream.

But my dreams give me hope. 

Hope, that one day, the word home becomes obsolete in my thoughts because I am. 

That one day, the uncertainty of where to go next will dissolve into a quiet certainty. 

That one day, I will no longer search, for I will know - 

I belong.