What “home” means to you beyond four walls—whether it’s someone you love, a ritual you return to, or a memory that still fuels you today.
Home – It’s Complicated…
It seems that most people come from somewhere – they have a family house or at least an area where their relatives live – when people ask “where do you come from?” they can simply answer with the location they grew up in.
But I never had that: Singapore – England – Singapore – boarding school in England – Germany – University in London – Job that moved every couple of years – Los Angeles for the longest time – now in Scotland.
So – which one’s home?
The longest I’ve spent in one place would be LA – while I often refer to it as home and indeed own a home there – I never took citizenship.
It’s hard to feel at home when you can be deported at any minute.
And so here I am in Scotland – my ancestral home – generations of Baillies and MacArthurs blending with McCluskeys from Ireland – and you know what – it kinda does feel like home. I feel very connected to the land – to the rivers and bens, the lochs and inches, the age of the buildings and the vibe of the people.
The problem is, I don’t sound Scottish at all – I sound ridiculous. My English boarding school accent, combined with Californian pronunciation and a tendency to pick up the accent of whoever I’m talking to – confuses the hell out of people. I’m immediately identified as an outsider – a foreigner – and so once again – home eludes me.
But I would like to know what home feels like – to feel rooted – to not feel like an outsider – rather to feel like I belong.
And I’m hopeful.
I think Scotland might be the place.
Image by Andrew
This article is part of The Human Collective. Each week we take a prompt and create a playlist and accompanying articles. This week we were wondering when did you last laugh out loud? Check out the playlist: Songs That Remind You of Home Learn more about The Human Collective here.
About the Curators
Andrew
The first visual memory I have is that of the white upright piano in Singapore, Hell and the Dark Forces lived at the bottom, Heaven and the Angels at the top, they would play battles through my fingers and I was hooked.
As a psychology graduate I studied how sound affects human performance.
As a musician I compose instrumental music that stimulates your brain but doesn't mess with your language centers, leaving you free to write creatively without distraction.
As a curator I research how music can improve your life and create flow - I can tell you what music to listen to when studying for a test and why listening to sad music can make you feel better.
As a creator / contributor at musicto I believe that music can make the world better.
What I'm doing now