Imagine you were born in one country, moved to another country half a year later, stayed there for eight years, moved back to the country you were born but in an entirely different place in that country, stayed there for two years, then moved across the Ocean and have been there ever since. Where is home then?
I have dual nationality. Which means that I have two passports. A Dutch one and an American one. I lived in the Netherlands for eight years and my dad is Dutch so it makes sense that I have a Dutch passport. And yet, I have never lived in the U.S. and I still have and American passport because my mom is American. I was also born in England. So where is home? Holland? Or the U.S? Or maybe even England. And now, What about Canada? Questions Attack my head like mosquitoes attack me. Where is Home?
To many people, home is where you live. In your house. To many other people, home is which country you were born or the place of your passport. And then other people say that home is where you spend the most time. Some really weird indecisive people say that they are simply from the planet Earth and are happy not to live in another solar system. So who is right? Where is Home?
Maybe home is everywhere. Like the really weird indecisive people said. Quite frankly that description describes me perfectly.
Every place I've been to seems like home. When I was little I used to sit by the raspberry patch and stuff my face with them. In Holland, I biked everywhere and played with my neighbours every day. In England I spent six days of the week with my best friend Freddie. In Canada I have a bunch of really good friends that I laugh with and have a good time. In the U.S I have friends and a really awesome hygienist and my grandparents. Where I've spent pretty much every summer since I was born.
I think that's maybe why I want to be a circumnavigator. So that my list of where home is can become even bigger than it already is. So I think that home is where ever you think it is. And for me, It's everywhere.
Life Lesson: Home is where you say it is.
I commented on Saski's blog this week.
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Where is home when you were born in one country, lived there for less than half a year, moved to another country, lived there for two years, then moved back to the country you were at before for less than a year, then moved to another country for six years, then BACK again, but to a different city than last time for three years, then got torn away from the bestest friends ever and currently live in the city you were born?
ReplyDeleteYaaaaay.
Hi Darcy, your dad is with us (Ciska and Jaap) tonight in Antwerpen Belgium. Maybe you remember us from visits with our kids Antony, Naomi and Sarah.
ReplyDeleteYour stories are very impressive. Especially the 'Holocaust' story as I had a grandfather Jacob Barzilay who didn't survive the camps either. Also the above story strikes a cord, as someone who lived in several countries, I too believe that home is where the ones you love live. Where the heart is.
We're planning to visit you all at the end of the year. Say hello to your brother and sister and your mum. We're hoping regular flights will resume again tomorrow (Iceland's eruption caused airports to close down) so your father can come home.