
To me home is the place where I am most free to be myself. It is the place where I have the greatest sense of belonging and where I can relate most intimately to the people who mean the most to me. It is the place where I have around me so many things that represent me as an individual - and things I treasure, which hold many memories - including innumerable people who have been part of my life.
There is, of course, an old saying that home is where the heart is. In that respect it can indeed be anywhere you are for a longer or shorter period of time, as long as you feel a sense of belonging there, and your heart is in that place at some point in your life's journey.
And maybe like you, I also consider two places I regard as home - the place where I am currently living now and the place where I grew up.
You see, I spent most of my formative years in Sagay with my father and sister and a long list of relatives. When our mom left us, my dad brought us to live in the ancestral house and in my mind and heart that house will always be my home, even though I have another house in a different village in the city now. But no matter how frustrated I may have felt during those times by how cramped, cluttered and chaotic it was during the overwhelmingly trying years when I was growing up - it was, above all my family's sanctuary.
That house is where we came together, where I was nurtured and feel comfortable with my own personal identity. It is the place where I shared the most meaningful relationships I have in this world. It's the place where I can shed any masks I had worn into the world to cover the most vulnerable parts of my soul - and where I can feel free to express myself.
Home is not only where the heart is. It is the place where the pulse of the family unit is felt by each individual.
I am going back to Sagay next month….and I am very excited!