My Home

When I am having a rough day or life is too overwhelming, all I want to do is to retreat to the safety of my home. To me, the word "home" takes on many forms, not just the place that I live. There are people in my life that I have come to associate with the word "home". My mother is one of these people. Whenever I am with her, I just get this feeling of serenity and happiness. To be perfectly honest, sometimes the only thing that gets me through my day is knowing that I will be with my mom when the day is over and I will be able to spend at least a little time with her. She just understands me so well and never fails to make me laugh. She's my best friend and I can always rely on her being there for me, and I think that that is one of components of "home". To me, "home" is being able to be vulnerable in a space, where all one feels is safety and trust.

Another example of "home" for me is my friend Alex. I have known this boy for 6 years now and I can still clearly remember how we absolutely hated each other in middle school. Though we have had our ups and downs throughout our friendship, I can truthfully say that he has become my brother and my "home". I think another form of "home" is comfort with another person. There are many moments throughout my day where I think 'Oh, what would Alex think of that?' or 'I need to tell that to Alex'. It never feels awkward or annoying to talk to him and that is something very rare for me. We have this joke where the two of us have absolutely no boundaries and that we know everything about each other. I think that is one of the main reasons why he feels like "home" to me. To be able to know that I can tell Alex anything and that nothing is off-limits is one of the best feelings in the world and I am always grateful to him for that. 

"Home" to me is more than just a space in which I live. I also experience it when I am in the theatre. The theatre for me has become, as Mrs. Carraher says, a "home away from home." I have experienced so much self growth and companionship through my connections within the theatre and I think that is one of the many reasons why I am going to continue to pursue musical theatre. Constantly being surrounded by people that are passionate about the arts and about devoting time and energy to the characters we portray is so inspiring and becomes a unique process with every show. Sometimes (most of the time) things can become stressful and it can be scary to go to a place where you could easily disappoint one's director or cast members. But I think that can be seen as "home" because it is not always a happy place. Human emotions and stressful situations can twist the feelings that home brings and can make it an uncomfortable place. If "home" was always this perfect place, I think that no one would truly have a "home" because no one person is perfect. Though one's home can hold flaws and become a stressful place, it just shows that it can always return to a place of serenity and comfort and that is the magic that "home" brings.