On Home

Many authors have written about the subject and idea of home. While I don't know that I will add anything new to the subject, I will put my voice into the conversation nonetheless.

Home is a very powerful concept. It is generally the place where one can relax and find respite. It is where they feel safe and secure. It is where all of the masks come off and the true self can come out.

There are many ideas for what and where home is, though. Some believe that it is the place where you were born. Some think it is where you grew up (which is not always the same). Others believe it is wherever you are living. Some think it is where you want to live.

We have sayings like "home is where the heart is", which lends itself to the idea of that place of joy and relaxation. But we also say "you can't go home again", which makes us think of home as a place of childhood innocence (so once you've lost your childhood or your innocence, you cannot return).

Home is usually a fixed location, but stories of wanderers and rogues often describe them as being homeless (because they don't own property that they live in), but also having the world as their home.

One's idea of home also depends on how we think of it. When home is a fixed location, when it is where you live, then home is not necessarily happy. When home is wherever you find joy, then it could fluctuate where it is.  When home is connected to a person, then it is wherever that person happens to be.

Again, there are countless voices already speaking of home, and so very many thoughts about what it even is. I encourage you to consider it yourself. Explore your own thoughts, find the answer that works for you, and add your voice to the conversation. Also, consider how the characters you create think about home and how it affects them.