concluding thoughts
Hey new besties… how’s it going? Thank you for entering a part of my world and taking the time to get to know me through a 2D, digital format. Feels weird to overshare so many details of my life. I hope the stories at least provided some entertainment!
Before you go, I’d like to end this journey with some thoughts on the concept of home that inspired me to produce these written works.
First, a clarification on the timeline of my living situation:
I was born and raised in South Florida, growing up in a suburb called Weston. When I graduated high school at 18, I moved to Orlando, Florida for eight months. At the age of 19, a couple of months after moving back south, I moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where I will live at least until spring 2022.
Through it all, I’ve spent weeks to months out of the year with my family in Monterrey, Mexico.
Going into this project, I had identified the main elements that influence my perception of a place. These elements almost exclusively relate to the interpersonal relationships I’ve formed and have been born into. Creating fond memories with loved ones makes a place more special than not. Similarly, being able to experience my own culture increases the value of a place by offering me a sense of belonging. This explains why Monterrey, Mexico will always feel like my true home despite never having been a permanent resident there.
But there must be something more. In Orlando, I had loved ones around me and childhood memories, yet I would never for a second even consider being more than a very temporary guest in that city.
In Ann Arbor, I haven’t connected with the minor population of people within my shared culture, yet I adore this charming city to a surprising degree.
Could it be an issue of mind over matter? Out of all four places I’ve identified as “homes”, Orlando was the only one I moved into with pure disdain.
Then again, I have been slandering South Florida for at least the past 10 years and I genuinely enjoy my time there now that I’ve moved away.
SO WHAT’S THE DEAL?!?!?
Turns out, I have no idea.
Throughout the unraveling of this project, I learned about myself, my values, and how they are projected onto physical locations but I have yet to understand exactly how all of these factors intertwine to create one cohesive feeling of home, or the opposite: the sharp sensation of being an outsider, feeling rejected from a space others so willingly belong to.
Is there more to it or is it a simple matter of personal perception?
I don’t have the answers and I am not sure I ever will. But hey, if you, lovely reader who I appreciate sososo much for still reading, ever find out ... let me know :P