Recently in one of my classes the professor had us do an icebreaker activity. Usually these cheesy, beginning of the quarter activities, make me want to shrivel up and hide away. The questions are usually asking us to share a fun fact, a secret skill, or a hobby, none of which I have. However, the question that this professor asked took me by surprise. She asked us to share with the class our name and where we felt most at home. Where I felt most at home? That was a question I was not prepared for. My instant reaction was to think, “Well, my home of course.” But then I started to think; My home in Davis, my home in my hometown, my hometown in general? Where did I feel most “at home” ? As I was pondering this, I started to listen to the answers my classmates were giving, and their answers surprised me in the best way.
My classmates started giving answers to this question each in their own unique way. Some people answered the question with their hometowns. They would say, “I feel most at home in Los Angeles, that is where I am from.” The people that answered this way were from Sacramento, San Diego, Idaho, and more. They all were from these different places, yet they all described them as feeling like home. The other answer that my classmates would give is that they felt most at home here in Davis. They would say, “I feel most at home in Davis, this is where my friends are.” They would say that their life was here, and it is where they felt most comfortable. I liked that answer, it made me happy to know that so many of my classmates felt at home right where we are. Another way my classmates would answer is at a home that they knew from their youth. They would answer by saying, “I feel most at home in my grandmother’s house, I spent a lot of time there growing up.” This answer was sweet, and made me miss my grandmother’s house where I learned to make Tamales, watched Telenovelas, and where I would watch my grandmother cook as she whistled whatever song was playing in her head. I always felt loved there, but her house is not where I feel most at home.
The last type of answer that people gave was that they felt most at home wherever their family was. They would say, “I feel most at home wherever my mom is.” Or their dad, grandmother, grandfather, siblings, any family member that made them feel most at home. This answer instantly made me realize where I feel most at home. I feel at home in my hometown driving around with my brother. I feel at home in my house watching TV with my mom. I feel at home sitting at my grandmother’s house talking to her and my dad about anything we feel like. I feel at home helping my grandpa pull avocados from his avocado tree. It finally was my turn and I said, “I feel most at home whenever I am with my family.”
This question about where we felt most at home showed me just how fluid the idea of home is. To some people, it is their hometown. It is where they grew up, and the place that they know. To others, it is where their friends are. It is where they have fun, can be themselves, laugh, and enjoy the gift of friendship. Other people feel at home in a certain house. The walls of these homes make them feel safe, secure, and loved. To me, and many others, home is wherever our family is. Where they are, is where we feel at home. Home is not just the place where we go at the end of each day. It is a thought, a feeling, an emotion. It is where we go to feel comfort, love, and happiness. I feel so grateful that I was able to learn this through a cheesy, beginning of the quarter icebreaker.