2025/Matthew-

What does it mean when people say, “Home is where the heart is,”? Where is our heart? Does it have to be in a place? For someone who’s lived in one house for most of his life, maybe. But does this mean that home has to be in a set place? What about people who move a lot, people who’ve never found themselves tied down to one place, physically or emotionally? Then what would home be? A person maybe? A thing? We all know what a house is, but what is a home?

For me, my home is my family. As a military kid, I’ve never stayed tied down to one town, city, or state, for more than three years. I move all the time, but the people I move with are what really matters to me. My wonderful mother, who cooks and cares for me all the time, someone I’ve become attached to. My little brother, an ex-cute big headed brat, with a forehead that stretches for miles, and likes to act like he’s too cool around his friends to have a big brother, or be a little brother (I still love him though.) And my dad, who has no hair. These people who I’ve been with my entire life, are who I would answer with, if asked “What is home to you?”

As to why these people are so important to me? As to why they are who I’d describe as home? That is for a multitude of reasons, but to name the first, it’d be how they’re the only constant in my life. The place in which I live is ever changing, and so is everything else about my life. One thing I don’t like is unpredictability, randomness. I know this is something people don't think about, including me (since this thought only came to me for the essay,) but waking up to the same people every morning, and sleeping in the same house to the same people every night, is something that gives me a sense of safety and satisfaction.

Now that I’m listing off my reasons, the second as to why my family is so important to me, is that they’re the only people I can truly unwind around. When I’m in public, I am always guarded, I have to be aware of everything I do, say, and how I look. Even if I’m with really close friends, I’ll always have my guard up to a degree. Only when I’m alone with my family can I kick back, relax, and not care about my appearance in the slightest. Only when I’m with my family can I wear the ugliest outfit imaginable, and have my hair look like a pinecone. I can lay down on all the furniture, not caring about sitting like a normal human being. I can burp as loud as a whale without caring, and stuff myself full of food. Only because I naturally trust that my family cares as little as I do. This is the true son they raised, so if they complain about it, I’d probably turn it back on them.

My third reason is much shorter, and doesn’t deserve an entire paragraph to itself. It is simply that at the end of the day, they are who I come home to. Whether I’m living in Japan, Delaware, Texas, South Korea, or whatever random country we’re in, at the end of the day, I come home to them. Nobody else but them. And so in conclusion, and yes I’m merging the third reason’s paragraph and the conclusion paragraph, because as I said, the third reason isn’t worthy of a whole paragraph, NOT that I wouldn't be able to make five sentences about it. As I was saying, in conclusion, I have lived in many houses, and will live in many more. I have met many people, and I’ve left behind even more. I will continue to make friends, and I will continue to leave them behind, because that is the life of a military child. But I will be fine, because as long as I have a family to return to, to unwind around, and to trust, I will be at home.