gen y


While home is most definitely wherever (and with whomever)


you make it, one variable in regard to that place should always remain


constant: Home is a place to feel safe and protected. “


ARE YOU AT HOME?


A very famous Kansas girl once whispered, “There’s no place like home...” Well, no offense to Ms. Dorothy Gale, but I don’t quite agree with her statement. Perhaps it’s because I don’t have pigtails, or that I’m lacking the ruby-red footwear...or maybe it’s that I’ve never had to go nose-to-nose with a wicked witch (the joys of not having a mother-in- law, I suppose). Regardless, there are many places “like home” to me—better even—sometimes. Let’s just get this out of the way now: “Home is


where the heart is,” right? Or, “Home is wherever you make it,” just pick your favorite cliché. Either way, we’re taught at a young age that there is a difference between having a “house” and having a “home.” Furthermore, there are not a set of concrete rules that define the idea of “home.”


THIS FACT BECOMES MORE PROMINENT EACH AND EVERY DAY. From same-sex lovers, to single 20-somethings


living on their own or with roommates of different nationalities, to widows or widowers forced to live on their own, anyone can make a home. The traditional meaning of the word is long gone (thank God) because who likes the staleness of tradition? So obviously, it’s safe to say anyone can make a


home and a home can be made anywhere, not just where you were born and raised. I have many homes, or many places that make me


feel like home, for example: The fiction section at Barnes & Noble (or any bookstore, really, new or used), poolside with an ice-cold Coors Light and the smell of suntan lotion in the air, or in bed while getting lost in an episode of Sex and the City that I’ve already seen 100 times…just to name a few of course. I find myself discovering more places like home


all of the time. And, in my opinion, it’s not finding a home that is challenging, but learning how to protect it. After all, protection is a burden we face on a daily basis. From unwanted babies and STDs, to intruders, bad relationships and toxic friends, everyone is trying to protect themselves from something or someone. Hell, how many people out there have life insurance policies? A 401k or retirement plan? A license to shoot a gun? Or, even the minuscule (and affordable) AAA membership? The list goes on. With all of these guards and different forms of protection readily available at our fingertips, I can’t help but wonder...Are we really living our lives? Or, are we simply living in fear? While home is most definitely wherever (and


by cutter slagle


with whomever) you make it, one variable in regard to that place should always remain constant, home is a place to feel safe and protected.


THE QUESTION IS, DO YOU FEEL SAFE IN YOUR VERSION OF “HOME?” It’s both interesting and sad to learn how many individuals don’t feel safe in their home. Yet, they still refuse to leave it in order to find or make a new one, one that does offer some sort of protection. I think this is where a lot of us get caught up on that thought of tradition, which ultimately leads to fear. Are people too frightened to trade the familiar


for the unknown? Avoiding change, even if it could mean their happiness? Experience the new in place of the old? And if so, who do we blame for this unnecessary and unhealthy fear? Our parents? Teachers? The wizard from Oz? Ourselves? It seems pretty simple to me: Just as the definition


of “home” consistently changes, so does that of “tradition,” because new traditions are created all of the time. So, in short, broaden your horizons, accept change, make those new traditions and explore the unknown or unfamiliar. In doing so, you will find your own, safe version of home…As well as yourself.


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RAGE monthly | SEPTEMBER 2017 RAGE monthly


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