Home is Where the Heart is

When you think of the word home, what comes to your mind? Most people would just say home is where they live or the house they grew up in. When I hear the word home I automatically think of my hometown, Claremont, NC.

I come from a very small town, where everyone knows everybody; you can go to the local cafe and know everyone in there by their first name. It is a a very tight community. We care about anyone and everyone that comes through our little town. In my hometown we say, “once a bear always a bear” because we truly believe that once you are in the community there is no going back. We mourn together, we eat together, we worship together, and we live together. There is nothing you will ever have to go through alone.

Something else that comes to mind when I think of home is the house  I have lived my whole life. Over the years my childhood home has evolved. My dad is a handy man so he has all these projects he keeps adding to the house. When my parents first bought the house it was a three bedroom, one bath house, with no front porch or garage. It is now a four bedroom, two and a half bath, with a front porch, garage, carport, and a pool. As our family as grown our house has, too. Through the years, as my two sisters and I have grown up we have all taken turns with moving into bigger rooms. The oldest was in the big room, my middle sister in the next room, because I was the youngest I got the smallest room. As they have moved out I have finally been promoted to the big room.

As I have moved to college, my house still doesn't seem to surprise me. When I came home I am always finding new gadgets my dad has installed. I swear one of these days the house is going to turn into some crazy "smart house."

Although these are the things that come to my mind when I think of home, I definitely believe home is where the heart is. These types of things may make it feel a lot more like home but with my family we can make just about anywhere feel like home.