A home is a place where an individual can feel welcomed, love is shown to the individual, and care is shown to the individual. Literally, a home is described simply as a place of residence which implies that home is wherever we ourselves as residents. From a critical or abstract point of view, the word home encompasses more than just a physical address. Bearing in mind that like everything else in the world, humanity's stay in the world is transient, people establish intangible and tangible connections with each other creating memories and familiarity. In fact, it is imperative to state that this tendency birthed the phrase 'home is where the heart is' (Sigmon, et.al, 2002).
The definition of love
The definition of love and care is quite subjective and thus varies from one individual to another. Putting this into perspective, while one person feels cared for and loved in a place where their wrong actions are condemned, another feels at home in a place where their wrongdoings are overlooked. In essence, this can be explained by, among other things, an individual's broader view of life and what it pertains to (Sigmon, et.al, 2002). For instance, there are multiple cases in the US of teenagers who run from home every year. While some of these teenagers run away from heartbreaking reasons such as abuse by the guardians or dysfunctional families, there are some who run away simply because their parents or guardians want to commit them to a rehabilitation center. When such individuals run away, they seek refuge among their peers who encourage their destructive behaviors such as drug abuse. For them, they are at home when in the company of their peers and not in their actual homes. It is, however, important to note that being encouraged to continue indulging in destructive behavior does not amount to love and care.
What is a home?
A person place of birth does not amount automatically qualify as one's home from an abstract point of view (Sigmon, et.al, 2002). Nobody chooses the location of their birth neither does anybody choose where they are brought up. More often than not, these two events are influenced by the external factors which in most cases one has no control over. For instance, nobody chooses to be born and brought up in a neighborhood characterized by ills such as drug trade and prostitution. Similarly, even those born in lavish homes do not have a choice on the matter. The fact that these places d not qualify as one's home from an abstract point of view can be explained by the tendency of people to relocate to other places where they get in a position to do so. Notably, such relocation is inspired by one's quest to seek a place where they feel welcomed, at peace and secure. It is no surprise therefore that some people relocate countless times in search of a place where they feel emotionally contended (Potts, 2012).
Like one's place of birth, one does not choose their siblings which again implies that one's siblings do not automatically quantify what a home is to an individual. Sibling rivalry are nothing new especially in a world where materialistic ambitions have clouded the minds of most people. Additionally, cases of deep-seated hatred and jealousy among siblings is not news either as such cases keep on recurring day in day out. Considering such cases one cannot say they feel at home in the company f their siblings. In other words, they do not feel loved or cared for. It is no surprise to find that most 'best friends forever (BFFs)' are not siblings. Surprisingly, there are friends who often more kind and more loving than an individual's own siblings (Sigmon, et.al, 2002). As such, one is more likely to feel at home in the company of such friends than in the company of their siblings and for good reason. In essence, one will often feel at home in the company of people who have good intentions for them as opposed to those whose quest is riddled with hatred, jealousy and unhealthy competition (Potts, 2012).
Conclusion
A home is a place where an individual can feel welcomed, love is shown to the individual, and where the individual can be shown care. With traveling becoming much more accessible and cheaper, the concept of home as being abstract becomes more apparent. Travelers, for instance, have no single location they consider to be their permanent home. Instead, they have multiple places place they call home even though these places could be separated by miles of geographical barriers. Notably, some of these travelers consider such places to be home not necessary because they have erected their structures in these locations but because of other factors such as the treatment they received, the weather in that location or the kindness of the people they interacted with. Often such aspects cause one to exclaim 'I feel at home'. It is interesting to note that despite the fact that people have believed for so long that their physical address is their home, an understanding of home from an abstract point of view cause bring them to the realization that they are not home at all.
References
Potts, R. (2012). Defining "Home" | Rolf Potts' Vagabonding blog. Retrieved from http://www.vagablogging.net/defining-home.html
Sigmon, S. T., Whitcomb, S. R., " Snyder, C. R. (2002). Psychological home. In Psychological Sense of Community(pp. 25-41). Springer, Boston, MA.
