Home. It’s Where The Heart Is…..

Everyone has a different definition of what makes up a home. Oddly enough, I know a lot of people that hate or strongly dislike being at home. It is not a place of peace for them.

This the reason why, when the pandemic forced everyone to be at home, they either had a great experience. Or a terrible experience. If you home is not a a place of happiness and peace for you. You do everything in your power to not want to be at home. There are many reasons for this. Maybe you live at home with a shitty family. Abusive parents, siblings or spouse. Could be your age. As teenagers or young adults, you want to explore the world and spread your wings. The house doesn’t feel like a home when you do not have positive experiences or memories attached to it. Or maybe, you don’t have a house to call home.

I am one of the fortunate ones. I’ve always had a home to come back to. Somewhere that was safe, quiet and loving. In my teens, I was rarely home. I definitely took it for granted. Not everyone had that luxury. I certainly awknowledge my privilage now. But in my teens, I was always too busy with school, sports and friends. Going to the movies, the mall, friends house and work.

My family and I have always owned 80% of the homes we have lived in. There have been a few homes that we rented, for one reason or another. But the sense of “HOME” or lack thereof is palpable. There are many people, who are renters, maybe they have rented their whole lives and their parents before them. So they don’t know the difference, in the sense of home. Now, before I cause controversy in those words. I want to say, I get it. You can defintiely be a home and at peace, even when renting. That’s why the headline of this article is “home is where the heart is”. You can be living in a tree and be right at home. I may be wrong in saying this, but it’s my opinion and subjective.

I believe, you tend to make a home, more of a home when you own it. It’s yours and yours alone. You can decorate it however you like. You imbue your essence into the home. Your love, so to speak. I have lived in big houses. Small houses. Rented. Owned. With family and alone. Thus far in my life, I have only ever lived in a rented home with my significant other. And each day, month and year that I am not living in my own home, hurts. And I can’t explain to my spouse how I feel. I think he knows. I think. He certainly tells me he understands. But I think it’s sympathy. Not empathy. But I’ll save that for another blog. This is getting too much into my feels.

Getting back on track. The financial benefits of owning vs. renting a home are well documented and (hopefully) well understood. But the emotional and spiritual benefits of owning your home are expressed, but hardly understood in way that it hits home to everyone. See what I did there? Sorry. My jokes are dry. But human emotions are difficult to discuss and understood universally. Human emotions are too complex.

My most favorite home I have lived in, so far in my life , is my condo. 705 square feet, 1 bed/1 bath, of my own slice of paradise. It hits different. This is because it was really my own. I have always been a lone wolf. But very rarely alone. Coming from a big family, there was always someone around. I have lived in an apartment during college, alone, but I never felt at ease. But when I bought that condo, I finally understood what it meant to live in a home you own and making it absolutely yours. Not a home your family owns. I was allowed to blossom and grow and an individual.

I truly thought I would be living here for a long time. I had every intention to. And I did for 3 years. I get very nostalgic when thinking about it and our time together was cut so short. Even when writing this, it’s hard for me to express the joy of owning my first starter home. Then you throw in, hindsight is 20/20 and the saying, you don’t know you’re in the good times until it’s over.

But for those who understand the benefits of owning your home, both financially and spiritually, and are motivated to buy their home. This is why I have chosen this career. I want to help people realize their dream. That while it is not easy, it is well worth it. I want to be apart of that. I want to