We've all heard the cliche: Home sweet home. But what is "home," exactly? Is it our place of residence? The house we grew up in? Is it the coffee house, bar, or some other hangout where we meet up with our loved ones? Is it a place at all? Does it refer to family? (And for that matter, what is family?) Friends? Strangers? Is a home merely inhabited, or does it serve some greater purpose? Is love there? Hate? Indifference? Is it a safe place or a dangerous one? Is home something external, or does it only exist within us? What is a home supposed to be? Whatever our individual definitions of "home," we all likely consider some place, some situation, or some gathering of people "home." Consider the conventional definition of "home" and how your own idea of "home" either confirms or denies that.
However you define home and family, A Home at the End of the World may challenge that definition as it portrays what many people consider to be very unconventional ideas of family life. Spending some time thinking about your own views of these concepts will prepare you for thinking more deeply about these concepts in the film as we discuss them in class.
The common saying is that home is where the heart is. I believe that is true and different for each person. So that would imply that there is love were home is. That can be brought by people, place, or an activity. Where someone grows up is always going to be called home because that’s where they grew up and had so many memories at. But I believe home can change or be more than one place or thing. I think it’s more of a thing or place where you feel super comfortable. So home is more of a thing created within one’s mind. Since physical and emotional comfort are two different things, it’s more a mental release. When a person says “home sweet home” it’s kind of a relief that things are back to the way they were before, and you can forget about the world for a little while.
ReplyDeleteFor me I have more than one home. Well my first home is the house where I’ve lived my whole life. This is the place where I am the most comfortable and my family is always there. My family always makes me feel better and like everything is normal and ok. My second home will always be the football field. That is because I absolutely love to play football and I’ve gone through so much woke to succeed there. It’s the place where I can drown out the world. My third and final home is my church building. I have gone to the same church building my whole life and I’ve known those people my whole life. It’s really like my second family. It’s a place where I can get away from the world and focus on what is really important: my faith and the God who created it all.
I think there is an ideal image of "home" that most people have ingrained into their head. This idea of the two story house with the white picket fence and the nuclear family inside. I do not think this is the idea of home at all. We have all herd the saying "home is where the heart is". I believe this saying to be true. I moved around a lot during my childhood so the places I called home was where ever my Dad, Mom, and sisters were. Therefore, I think home is a physical and mental place. Now that I am older and do not live with either one of my parents, I consider home to be where ever my fiance is. I think family are the people you call your kin. There are people in my life that would be classified as my family but I do not classify them as such. Also, there are people in my life that would not be classified as family but I classify them as such. Friends are the people in your life that you enjoy spending time with. Strangers are people that you know nothing about. A home is not just merely inhabited. I think it serves a greater purpose of giving people a safe haven, the one place where they can feel safe. There should be love in a home. Some times there might be bad situations where there is hate in the home. Home is something that is external and internal. Home is the actual place people inhabit and the internal feeling of belonging. A home is supposed to be a place where family all live together and can feel safe and loved. My idea of home does not confirm the conventional definition of home. I do not talked to some of my family therefore I do not live with them anymore. I created my own home and filled it with the people that are important to me. Ryan Brown brings up an interesting point when he says the football field is a home to him. I never thought of a home being a place where I did not actually live. I guess a place where one feels a great connection to could be considered home to them.
ReplyDeleteI loved that you called it a safe haven because that is what home is to me. I don't know if you or anyone else feels this way but when I come home from traveling or from a friends house the feeling I get is of in-explainable relief. I get that "ahh" moment and just want to hug the floor because I'm so happy to be there.
DeleteThe idea of “home” is a very subjective description. My description of home is a physical and mental place. Almost my entire life has been spent on our family orchard. Throughout the years my family has put so much time and effort into maintaining this property. Spending a good portion of time working meant bonding time with my immediate family and relatives. This time spent together reflects a stronger emotional and mental connection to my family. Since I’m closer to my family, my definition of home is very different than others. I even consider Logan County to be home, although I absolutely hate living within the county, I still call it home because it’s where all my good memories of my family take place.
ReplyDeleteI believe home can be just about anywhere you feel a deeper meaning to life and where you feel safe. It doesn’t even have to be a physical place at all. However, I do believe that home includes family and friends. Some may not have family, but friends can fulfill this need. Home does serve a greater purpose, it allows you to have a sense of belonging in the world and since it’s a different concept to everyone, any place you find a connection will function as your home.
A home contains love, hate, and indifference because home is where you experience the “good, the bad, and the ugly”. Maggie wrote a good description of emotion in a home. I especially find her description to be very accurate in the breakdown of each one. All these emotions influence the development of personality in people. It all begins in the upbringing and the early life. The dynamic difference a person experiences at home, can be the ultimate difference to a person’s definition of home.
By looking upon my own definition of “home”, I can say that my definition reflects a good number of characteristics that most would consider to be home.
Google defines a home as “the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household.” The idea of a home is different for every person. For some, it may simply be the house they grew up in, or maybe the house their children were raised in. The term home does not have to refer to a specific place or person. The idea of “home” can change throughout a person’s life.
ReplyDeleteMy “home,” is the house I lived in until I was 18. I grew up in that house with my parents and little sister. There was always at least one pet in the house and we constantly had people visiting or sleeping over, but those things did not define it as home. After high school, my family moved into a new house a few blocks away, but no matter how hard we tried, it never felt right. They were still the same people, living the same way, but the new house did not feel like home.
A person living alone could believe that their house is their home, but I would not classify “home” as a place of residence because to me, the building by itself is not a home. Nor would I classify it by the people who live there. It is possible to feel like your home is where your immediate family is. On the other hand, maybe you do not get along with your family or they simply aren’t around. In which case, you could classify close friends as family. Home is more of a feeling, than a place or specific group of people. Maggie Buss appropriately referenced the phrase “home is where the heart is.”
Home is somewhere you want to be. Dillon Huff said that “home does serve a greater purpose, it allows you to have a sense of belonging in the world,” which was wonderfully said. A home is not merely inhabited, it is experienced. Home does not mean there is only happiness and great memories. Many people struggle in their homes, but that struggle is part of the experience.
"The idea of "home" can change throughout a persons life." I couldn't have said it better myself. The concept of "home" has always been a difficult once for me. An always changing idea that never feels quite right. Growing up, it was as simple as where I lived or where my whole family was, but now a days, I can't seem to find my home. Its been years since I felt like I was home.
DeleteThe idea of “home” is subjective to each and every person as we all see home as a mental location and physical location. My idea of home is where my family is, which could be my own house or another family members. To me home can be explained as “where the heart is” like Ryan Brown commented. For my most of my younger life, my home has been where I grew up with my father and mother. So, I believe that home is where we connect with our loved ones and grow as a family. Although, later in life my father and mother split up, so I also saw my father's house as my home. Home to me cannot be defined as a single location, to me it is internal; where love is at.
ReplyDeleteHomes may provide love from our family and friends, they also provide safety. Homes provide us with safety from strangers and harsh climates. Home also provides a specific type of safety, being able to have comfort in one's own home; safe haven. I have always seen home as a place I can escape to after a long day's work or just a day off. In my own home, I can freely express my opinions without being judged by others. Love may be the main purpose of a home to me, but safety shares a greater importance in the ideas of a home.
The reason why home is so hard to describe is because, it is what each and every person makes it. Although I view home as where you belong, others can see home as a destination. Some people in this world do not have their own homes due to natural disasters or poverty. Home to these people can be saw as a shelter. Although, they may not know many people at the shelter, it is still safety and a home to go to.
I agree with you in saying that home is where you can "freely express my opinions without being judged by others." Families are to be very accepting and the home is where you should feel the most accepted. I know that in some cases this is not true and people aren't accepted in their own home. That is disgusting, everyone should feel a sense of safety and love.
DeleteAccording to Dictionary.com, home is the place where one lives permanently. This formal definition loosely resembles my own. I feel home is where one lives and feels safe. That you know you are going to be loved and not judged. Home is where you know people will have your back.
ReplyDeleteMy home is where I am living now, the family house. My great-grandparents built this house. They lived in it, my grandparents lived in it, my mom grew up in it and now we have lived in it for over 10 years. Walking into my house, I feel like I am being welcomed. I know I am safe once I step throw my door.
The idea of “Home Sweet Home” is very external and internal. People have the need to have a place to call home. Some could call a state of mind home, like their happy place. This state of mind can be anywhere in the world. Everyone needs their own happy place to help calm them when they are anxious or upset. Externally, home is a physical aspect. Something that is tangible. Home could be you surrounded by your closest family members and friends, or sitting at your favorite seat at your favorite bar. Having that physical connection can really help ensure someone that they are safe.
I know that my idea of home is being with my family. I like to know that they are always there for me and ready to help when needed, no questions asked.
Homes are all filled with many different values, ideas, feelings, and symbols. My home is filled with love, pictures of past generations and family memorabilia. Not all homes are like this. Everyone is different. Some homes can as mean as the Devil, and you can tell when you walk through the door.
That is absolutly amazing the generations that has gone through your house. I agree with your post that home can be tangible and intangible. I think it just molds with human nature. We can believe that we are at home with ourselves and with our loved ones but it is easier to recognize when you have a tangible associatiation with your state of mind.
DeleteYou brought up some very good points about the different aspects of what a home is. I seemed to forget about the different symbols and values a home can mean to different people. I would have to agree with your statement about how homes can mean as the Devil. I have been in several homes where I would get an eerie feeling like something is wrong with that home and that I don't belong there.
DeleteIt seems as though everyone who has commented so far has the same idea of what home is. It is technically the place we live, that’s why we call it home. However, I have recently found a new meaning in home. Tonight is fourth night in my family’s new house. We previously lived in the same house for twenty years. We moved into that house when I was only nine months old. It was basically the only house I knew. Now that we’ve moved I realize how much more it was to me. It was not just a roof over my head. It was not just a home to myself and my family; It was a home to my memories. During my last walk through of the house I remembered all the christmas mornings in the living room, thanksgivings in the dining room, first day of school pictures on the front steps, and so many more memories. That was when I realized a home is more than what it appears. When it comes down to it the size of the house or the type of counter tops in the kitchen don’t mean a thing. What makes a home valuable is it’s memories. It is almost like a part of your family to an extend. It has seen the good and the bad times, and in the end it will always be there for you.
ReplyDeleteWith that being said I think the phrase “home sweet home” is referring to those sweet memories and times you’ve had there. That’s why everyone wants to be home at the end of a long day. Our home is what makes us happy and provides us with so many of the finer things in life. And perhaps that could include the city of springfield, or maybe even the state of Illinois if you want to be broad. Our home can be wherever and whatever we want it to be. Even though the dictionary will restrict the meaning of the word it can mean whatever we want it to mean.
Alex Brings up a great point here. One of the things you associate with home is memories. It's not so much the physical place we call home, but what happens there that makes it home. I think that's where the meaning of home gets mixed up.
DeleteFor many years, I didn’t have a place I could consider “Home.” After the great schism that followed in my mother’s blazing trail to lesbian freedom, I cut contact with the majority of my family. Shortly thereafter, a series of unfortunate events revolving around drugs, sex and rock n’ roll, ended with me labeled a social pariah. I sold everything I owned and left the state. For the next few years, the concept of a “home,” was something that never crossed my mind. It isn’t a place where you live, but somewhere you feel accepted. With only a few months at any given time in one place, I never got close enough with anyone to achieve that elusive home brand of acceptance.
ReplyDeleteThe dictionary claims to define the term home with typical oversimplification as, “where you live at a particular time.” Oh dictionary, if life were only that simple, I would never have wandered up and down the east coast for so long. Maybe if things hadn’t gotten so rough, I would still see south Florida as my home. But after all the experiences I have had, I can never see “home” as just a place. It’s the people you surround yourself with. Whether they are friends or strangers, I feel at home when I am not judged. Feeling accepted doesn’t have to imply a friend base or family in the area. Acceptance can be felt alone.
I discovered a great distrust for family and friends alike. Throughout the events in my life, I have learned to come to terms with the fragility of bonds between people and the insignificance of the area I live in. The most direct way I can explain what “home” means to me is a peace of mind. All variable aside, just peace of mind.
The term home is such a subjective word that it’s difficult to properly describe it. Most dictionaries would define the word as a place or residence where one lives but even that is hard to pinpoint. Is it a specific house? A town or city? The country you live in? It’s rather hard to say. However, I think that most people would agree that home isn’t just a place, but rather a combination of many things that differ from person to person. Reading through the blog entries before mine, I noticed that while there were many overlapping concepts in everyone’s descriptions of what they consider to be home, each depiction was different and I believe that to be what home is all about. Home is a place where one feels safe and comfortable and happy. It’s a place where a person can be themselves without fear of negativity or hate. The concept of home is different for everyone and can take the shape of almost anything or anywhere, including the memory of a place where one no longer lives.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the idea of home is more of a state of being rather than a physical place. When I feel calm and comfortable with myself and everything around me, I know that I’m home. I missed this feeling through much of high school and didn’t realize how wound up and tense I’d been until I moved out to go to college. Upon finding myself in a calmer, less stressful atmosphere, I realized how at home I finally felt. To me, this feeling isn’t tied to a particular place, but rather how a place and the people in it make me feel.
I have to agree with Ryan Schlussler on this; home is a place where one feels peace of mind. The subjective nature of the definition then comes with what each person considers peaceful.
The dictionary reference online refers to home as a “house, apartment, or other shelter that is the usual residence of person, family, or household.” To me home is not just a place but also a state of being within one’s self. Growing up I was always that one person that didn’t like sleep-overs. When I did sleep over some place I would always want to go home first thing in the morning. Of course, my parents hated picking me up at six in the morning but I just wanted to go home. Home to me is a place of comfort and love. It is a place where I feel at peace with myself. It is a place with no judgment and welcomes everyone with open arms. I was always the “weird” child of the family. I like to explore a range of fields, ideas, and religions and growing up in my home I was allowed to do that. When I wanted to be a witch and do spells that cured broken hearts that was okay. The sad thing is that not everyone has that. I knew a girl when I was younger, that after school she never wanted to go home. I never understood that as a child because I loved going home, but now that I’m older, I know some homes are not a place to want to be. Whether that be because they have parents that are addicted to drugs, they don’t have a mom or dad, or just simply because they don’t feel comfortable there. Whatever the reason may be I believe a home, standing true or not true for you, is a place where one can be themselves without feeling that they are being ridiculed. It’s a place of love from the family you have, friends, and significant others. Home is the place you desire to be.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone that the term home is a place where you feel comfortable, safe, and accepted. Everyone has a different idea of what it is considering his or her situation. For example, one of my good friends doesn’t have the best “home life” where she can feel appreciated in her own setting. So when we all went off to college she never came back because to her, college is where her home is now. She made good friends and is in a better situation there then she ever was living at “home” with her family. Nicole said, “The idea of “Home Sweet Home” is very external and Internal.” I agree with this because when I use to go to Christian camps growing up they would tell us to go find a “quiet home” to talk to God. So externally we would go to the beach and stare at the ocean or go to our hotel bedroom. Internally, we would go to a quiet, relaxing place in our mind. They considered this being at “home with God”, a place where you feel comfortable and free to talk to him.
ReplyDeleteIn my point of view, the term home symbolizes two places. The house my family lives in and the house my best friend lives in. The reason why I consider both my home is because I practically grew up switching from house to house. I met my best friend when I was three in pre-school and her mom was my babysitter. I spent a lot of time over there because my own Mom was pregnant with my little sister. She had a lot of problems with her pregnancy and even after. We found out my little sister has Down syndrome and in the beginning it really took a toll on my parents. I was too young to understand anything but when all the struggling was over, I still went to my best friends just as much as my “real home”. Therefore, in my opinion your home could even be in two destinations. I haven’t felt like college is home yet because I am still getting comfortable there and I never had to share a room with someone growing up. It’s hard to call someplace home when your still getting to know the people you live with and even the town you live in.
Home is where the heart is, that's what everybody likes to say. Home to me is the place that makes you happy and it's where you want to be. It doesn't matter if you know anybody there, it doesn't matter if you have family there as long as you are happy in a place then you can consider that your home. I would have to disagree with Jessica because home is not a house, apartment, or shelter it's wherever you find a piece if mind like Ryan said.
ReplyDeleteHome has always been were I feel most comfortable. It’s a place where we can truly be ourselves and no one can judge you. Since us humans are usually creatures of habit, the state of a person’s home have been known to physiologically influence their behavior, emotions, and overall mental health. Home is truly were the heart is. Homes are more than financial assets. For some of us who were fortunate enough to have grown up in house owned by our parents, they were the backdrop in our childhood memories. Our house represented to many of us a good measure of the success our parents had attained; it’s the outward expression of how hard work had paid off in comfort and safety. With the home foreclosure rate in America skyrocketing, our economic conditions translate into a true public health concern. Losing one’s home can feel like losing one’s self. While the term home is instantly identifiable, and the physical reality of home is a central characteristic of our everyday lives. Our perceptions of what home truly means to us, does not get very much attention. Home, seems something most of us take granted. Home constitutes, for almost all of us, simple rituals that link us with sequences of the day and patterns of time. The ritual that surround, gathering food, cooking for ourselves or our families, washing, eating, sleeping and cleaning connect us to almost all of humanity yet we do very little to celebrate or pay tribute to those rituals that Centre around and link us to the diverse but collective experience , of what “home” is. The meaning of home is often connected with comfort, relationships, family, relatives, friends and traditional rituals that give meaning to our lives. Home is where we our accepted no matter what kind of outcomes we have in our lives regardless if they are good or bad.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Webster dictionary home is one's place of residence. In my opinion the definition should be one’s place of comfort. You can live in a house and not feel at home there. There are many clichés that are common to us relating to home and love as mentioned in previous posts on this blog by Ryan S. and other bloggers, but think of the people in abusive situations. They usually stay there out of fear but find avenues of emotional escape somewhere else. That is the place they are more at home with themselves. People can feel more at home with their friends or at work than they do at their actual place of residence. Home is an idea and it varies depending on the person and their personal situations. Home is not a tangible place but the feeling of comfort with certain surroundings. This can be with friends, family, or co-workers. I believe there does have to be a certain love for what you consider to be home because you can’t feel comfort in a place that does not have a certain emotional tie.
ReplyDeleteLiving in the house you have grown up in does provide a sense of security and comfort, so you feel more at home. I have moved to more houses in my short 24 years than I can count, but I never really felt at home in those locations. However, when my parents and siblings are all around me and we are enjoying each other’s company, I feel at home even if I am sitting with them at the dentist office or at a restaurant. My family is my home; we have the strong foundation necessary to overcome any obstacle. With them I am most comfortable, so no matter where we are physically, I am at home.
“Home is the place, when you have to go there, they have to take you in”.
ReplyDeleteRobert Frost
My idea of a home has changed over the years. When I was little, my home was where my family was located. It was a place where I would go and my mom, dad, and brothers would be there. It was a placed of safety and peace. It was a place of love and good made from scratch meals that my mom made. I moved around a lot as a child, so the place I called home was the house were my parents settled in. As I got older my idea of a home was vivid imagination of what I wanted my life to look like. I would picture my perfect house with the perfect family. It wasn’t to the point of society’s perfect family, but a family and home that matched my needs and wants. I wanted that home to be a place of love and security for my own family. A place where they could relax, enjoy themselves, and have till their hearts were content. That home was in my head and would always be in my head. This perfect home in my head would always be a goal for me to try and achieve. It lets me know that one day I will obtain the home and family that I always wanted.
Three years ago I moved into my first house by myself, it wasn’t the dream home but it was a start towards that dream. I then had a daughter and my whole idea of a home changed drastically. Instead of a place just for me, I now had another person to think about. I had to make sure that my house had the feeling of security to not only me, but to my daughter as well. I wanted to make my home a place where my daughter knew she could just walk in the front door and know she was home. As my daughter gets older, I will make sure that she always has an input on how to make a new place feel like home. I want my daughter to have the same feelings about her home that I did about mine.
I think that home is a very subjective term and it can encompass so many different things and have so many different definitions even just to a single person. There’s the predictable definition of a home as the place where one actually resides, like someone saying, “My home is on 123 South Street,” but this is a very clinical definition and it disregards a lot of what goes in to making a home actually a home and not just a building that you happen to eat and sleep in.
ReplyDeleteRyan Brown discussed the common phrase “Home is where the heart is,” in his response and I think that this is an idea that we are all coming back to in our responses regarding what defines a home: the idea that it’s the people you live with, your memories in a place, and the emotional connection you feel to a certain place that takes it from being just a place that you live to actually being a home. This is why, when you spend a lot of time at a friend’s house, you might refer to it as your second home, rather than just a place you happen to spend a lot of time at. To sum it all up: home is not a place, home is people that you care about.
I also think that Dillon Huff brought up a great point when he said that a home gives a person “some sense of belonging in the world.” This is very accurate and essential to the idea of a home, as well. For a home to be a home, one has to feel some kind of tie to it; it has to be the grounding place in a person’s world. It exists as a sort of anchor: no matter where you are in the world, you always think of yourself relative to that home. I think this is what makes a home a home, the idea of it being a place that you always come back to.
Someone's home is a place to feel safe. Where family lives and grows together. I have lived in Illinois for about five years now and I consider this to be home. The rest of my little family in Springfield still consider Minnesota to be home. After getting to know my daughter's grandpa and great grandfather's family I understand why she still feels such a strong connection to them. They live based on the idea of family first and always make the young ones feel special when they are being talked to.
ReplyDeleteFamiliarity of people seems to play a part in how we act towards each other. I have always found it strange that people are more inclined to be rude to people they do not know. Some unspoken barrier exists where if you have an unfamiliar face than you are considered to be in the way of what someone wants. Very strange. When family talks about something there is care behind the words that are spoken, even if the subject matter is difficult. Friendships may become part of family as well. Though ultimately easier to sever when stress is introduced to the relationship. I wonder if because they are introduced to a person later it makes it easier to separate. For example, does the strong connection I feel towards my family equate that of an adopted child to their guardians?
Does family serve a greater purpose? Is Love there? Hate? The question of whether or not love or hate exists in family is something I have not thought of before. Certainly Love would seem to be the right answer. If hate exists all the time within. Than home may not meet all the needs of a person. It simply becomes the place they live. The feeling of safety, purpose, and love must be present in order for something to be considered as home.
Someones home is a place that one is happy and feels content in being at. Family does not matter but people who are close to you do. One may have their home with their family as a child and even into college, but as you age your home is not with your mother and father or your grandparents anymore, your home is where you choose to be. As I have aged my home has moved from DuQuoin, Illinois to an apartment in Chatham that I enjoyed being at, but then I got a job and now this job that I have is my home, I spend 60 hours a week at my job and I spend more time with the guys I work with then I do with anyone else. So even though I do not live at Panther Creek Country Club, I am still happy there and I still consider it my home even though I technically don't live there. So I guess that one could say that anywhere could be a home as long as it makes one happy and there are people around who care about you.
ReplyDeleteTo go a little further with my above post home can be anywhere to any given person at any given time, as long as that person thinks if it as home. Every persons definition of home is different and I don't believe that anyone but yourself can define what the word home means to you.
ReplyDelete