Home...

Four letters. One syllable. Such a simple word. Yet it's probably the one thing that I have the greatest difficulty in defining.

During my childhood and school years (including university), home was easy to define. I lived with my parents and sister. If someone asked me where I lived or where was home, I could say with confidence, "I live in ________"(insert suburb/city here, depending on who I was talking to).

Then I got my first 'real world' job after university. And I moved to a town a day's drive from where I grew up. All of a sudden, I found it a whole lot more difficult to define 'home.' At first, I would talk about going home to visit family, going back to town where I grew up. Then, as time passed, I got more involved in the town I was living in, I was feeling more comfortable and confident in my job, and was loving the town and surroundings. Before I knew it, this new town was home.

And now I find myself in the UK. The question of 'where are you from?' is even trickier to answer now. I'm finding that when most people ask, they just want to know where my accent is from (and some of the suggestions I've had....that's a post for another day) and so that's what I tell them.

But....I should also mention that I was born in the UK. In the year and a bit I've been here, life has a lot of the time felt comfortable, and in some respects, like 'home.' Yet I also describe myself as Australian, and find myself missing a few things back in Australia....and still think of it as home most of the time.

So, what defines home?

Is it where you were born?

Is it where you grew up?

Is it where your family lives?

Is it where you grew as a person and learnt about yourself?

Is it where you currently live?

Or is it a combination of some/all of these things?

I'm still to decide, and I think my definition will continue to grow and evolve....if I come up with a definitive answer, I'll let you know.