Home

I have been giving a decent amount of thought lately to the concept of 'home.' I have come to realize, I am absolutely confused of what the actual meaning is. In my life, 'home' has consisted of family and friends, an actual building, as well as a few of those special places where my heart has been fully content. How can one word represent so many different different things?

When I was in college, I would always say, "Home is where my bed is." And yes, that was correct. I am a huge fan of sleep so regardless if I were living in the upper thicket at CBS, the Kappa house at OU, or crashing at my dad's, I always had a bed to call home.

Somehow, the concept has grown in my mind. I am no longer content with just a familiar pillow and blanket. I need more than that. I imagine home being where loved ones greet you at the door, where creations cook in the kitchen, and scraped knees heal with a kiss and an extra cookie. This is the kind of home that I grew up in and I thought it would always last but I was wrong. As I have grown older, I have had to create my own homes. I've attempted to make the environment that I live in similar to the places I have lived before.

When I think about home, many things come to mind.

Oklahoma is the first that I think about.  There are times I find myself deeply aching for the red dirt roads and driving through wheat fields blaring Tom Petty. The 'windshield sunsets' and 'big Oklahoma skies' are unmatched and this Oklahoma girl will always crave these things along with the smell of a June rain right before harvest or the smell of fall during a night game in Norman. I love the way the concrete on the driveway feels after a night run during the summer or sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee when you are snowed in.

There is also a corner of the world known as the texas hill country that is always inviting as well. The scenery is beautiful, the lakes are full of fish, and I feel like this is the place that I grew from an awkward teenager into a more confident woman. There were nights spent swimming in the lake, sitting on a back porch examining life and God, and lifelong friendships formed. This was home for six years.

I now live in Guatemala in a fantastic little house with a lovely yard and a very energetic, protective Boxer puppy. I have been here for almost five years and I have grown to love the moments that I am caught in a downpour with my rain jacket, the times when a cute little girl convinces me that I do need 25 limes so I purchase them for all of $0.60, or when the power goes out and I have nothing to do but sit in the gorgeous mountain sunshine.

Maya Angelou stated, "The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned." She also said, "I love, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself." The idea of being completely yourself or finding yourself is an interesting way to define home. But I think she is right on target. All of these places that I have mentioned above have been locations where I have discovered something new about myself. I have been completely honest with who I am and who I want to become. Those around me have also aided in this by holding me accountable and also accepting me just how I am.

Because of these things, I have many homes. And I'm sure I will have many more along the way.

Playlist:
You're my home by Billy Joel
No Place Like Home by Bri Bagwell
Home Sweet Home by Carrie Underwood
My Way Home by Citizen Cope
Don't Leave Home by Dido
Home by Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros
Honey Come Home by The Head and the Heart
Take Me Home, Country Road by John Denver
Bring it On Home by Little Big Town
Finding My Way Back Home By Lee Ann Womack
I Feel Home by O.A.R.
Long Ride Home by Patty Griffin
Home by Phillip Phillips
I'm Coming Home by Robert Earl Keen
Home by Sheryl Crow
Home by Tandy
I Ain't in Checotah Anymore by Carrie Underwood
Fly Over States by Jason Aldean