When I went back home for the summer after my freshman year of college, home was no longer “home.” My parents, after years of talking about it, finally moved to a new house. While the new house was in the same state, and even the same school district, going home felt foreign to me. My best friend no longer lived down the street from us, my bedroom walls were no longer painted an obnoxious shade of green, and I constantly had to ask my parents where things were located in the kitchen. The familiarity I had always associated with the word “home” was gone. Home was now brand new.
I spent the summer in that house and, although I still don’t have the address quite memorized, I now identify this particular spot in suburban Minnesota as “home.” This relocation and shift in perspective caused me to wonder: what is home? Is it possible to have several? Is it possible for home to not feel like “home” anymore?
College is a weird time where it feels like we have several homes and also no home. Minnesota is where I am from and where my family is, so that is the physical location that I most closely identify as “home.” But I spend more time in Saint Louis throughout the course of a year, and have friends there that make it feel like home. And, on top of that, I am currently abroad. After a long weekend of travel, I find myself looking forward to the comfort of “home” that my little apartment in Madrid offers.
I wondered if other people had thoughts and opinions on this particular subject, so I took a very scientific approach to collecting data: Instagram stories. I asked the question “what is home to you?” and was surprised by the variety of answers I received. Here are some of the most common responses to the question— a list of what home is, in the eyes of college students.
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Home is where the people you love are.
- “I think home is when I am surrounded by people who I love and who love me!”
- “Home is wherever your people are.”
- “Growing up my family moved every 2 or 3 years for my dad’s job. Home is where my family is.”
- “Home isn’t where you’re at, it’s who you’re with!”
- “Anywhere with my family.”
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Home is a feeling.
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“Wherever I feel most myself.”
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“Where you’re most comfortable.”
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“A place where I feel valued, respected, and loved.”
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“For me it’s a feeling. Whenever I’m surrounded by people that love me/people I love, that’s when I feel at home.”
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Home is a physical place.
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“Exclusively Minnesota, no ifs, ands or buts.”
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“Minnesota: a place I feel safe, secure and loved. The place I know like the back of my hand.”
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“Where I’m from and where I grew up. College feels more temporary.”
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Other perspectives.
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“It’s where my stuff is lol”
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“[After my parents’ divorce] I think home is a state of strength and feeling. It comes from inside of you and you can feel it even when you aren’t with other people. It’s a comfort that tells you things will be okay despite this moment or this hour or the past few days. It makes home less conditional.”
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“I think people argue whether home is a place or a feeling, but I think it cannot exist without both elements present to some degree.”
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“Wherever I am. I try to make every place I go my home. But, this takes a meditative mindset and requires one to not be afraid of feeling “lost.” Home shouldn’t make you feel lost, but found, rather.”
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