I'd like to say that I have a privileged life growing up among different worlds. I don't have one single place I'd call home, but rather various places around the world that I feel comfortable at and know. When you ask me where home is, I will not say a specific city, state, or country, but rather I'd be likely to tell you that I like Vlasim, Czech Republic because I lived there for 5 years of my life (longer than I've ever lived in one place before and since then), I also would say that I love Prague a lot, although technically I live outside of it (on the outskirts of the city) and that it, to me, is the most beautiful city I've ever seen. I might even mention the entire Europe as a whole, because I've been to many different countries throughout it, and I associate them all with different experiences I've had in each of them. I would most certainly mention England, although I've only been there probably 3 and a half weeks of my life, on separate visits, because I have so many fond memories of it, and I love the culture, accents, and most everything about it that I've seen in my limited time there. I most likely would mention that I was born in michigan, not because it has any correlation with feelings of "home" for me but because to a lot of people it would. I would also say that I have spent the majority of my time in America in Indiana, and even lived there for up to 8 months at a time, and since that is a substantial amount of time to live in one place in my mind, I would give it some of those home qualities too. Chicago could be home, because of good experiences I've had there.I could even talk about the whole United States of America as my home if I felt that, because I am after all American by passport. And in Europe a lot of times America is just one big town. Even Austria could have some of that home for me because every time I'm there I am at peace, and I've been there enough times to know whats what. The list could go on..
but to sum it up, my home is the places I've been and shared with people I love, some places have more "home" qualities to them than others, but there is certainly not one home for me.
And although sometimes I wish there was, I have gotten the great experience of learning that home is where the heart is, and that can be wherever you make it.
The Charles Bridge. Prague, Czech Republic.
Definitely one of the places that is home to me.
