If you read our previous article, “A Love Letter to Wheeling, My Home” by Michael Romick, then you know he spends a great deal of time discussing the elusive and evolving definition of “home” with his students at Wheeling Park High School. Today, we are sharing how his students define home for themselves after reflecting on Romick’s lesson.
Nicki Brown
Home is a place where family is. My family and I travel a lot, and no matter where we are, it feels like home as long as I am with them. Even though wheeling is my “home”, I can go hundreds or even thousands of miles away and still feel like home.
Olivia Charlton
Home doesn’t always have to be a place, it can be a person. Someone that makes you feel safe and loved.
Chloe Holmes
I’ve always heard the saying, “Home is where the heart is,” and just thought it was a stupid cliché saying. When I thought about it more, I realized that it actually applies to what home is to me. Home is where I feel loved and safe like in my house with my family. To me, home isn’t just a noun, it’s also an adjective. Home is my best friends because I feel safe and loved when I am with them. Home is the feeling I get when I am around my pets because they make me happy. Home is laying in my bed curled up with a good book because I feel at home when I’m reading as I put myself in the characters’ shoes and delve into their lives.
Braeden Keen
Home is a place where you feel comfortable around the people there. It is where you feel safe and supported no matter what.
Annalynn McCreary
5 years old
House: where I live with my mom, dad, and baby brother
Home: where I live with my mom, dad, and baby brother
10 years old
House: where I live with my mom and brother
Home: my dad’s arms
15 years old
House: where I live with my mom, step-dad, brother, and step-sisters
Home: a place I know that I am safe, I am loved, and I have people that accept me for who I am and who care about my well being
Now at 17 years old I have two houses: my mom’s house, and my dad’s house. At 10 years old I was still too naive to understand that a house and a home are not the same. A house is a physical place, where memories were made, whether they were filled with laughs or tears. It took me a couple years of missing my dad and distancing myself from my mom to realize that a home is more than just a physical place and the memories made there. I have found a lot of homes outside of my own house, whether it be at the summer camp where I met my best friends and I feel safe and loved, or with my boyfriend who I know will be by my side no matter what. A home isn’t always a place to go when you have no other option, it is people who will welcome you back with open arms despite the hardships and because of the love they have for you.
Savannah Turner-Davis
Home to me is a track. At a track, I feel at peace and I can run all my problems away. It is not only about me being able to shake off my problems, but it also represents my amazing team who treats me like family. I have had some amazing days on a track and some of my hardest days there. At the end of the day, that is the place I belong the most and where I feel the most love.
Lillian Croft
Home is the place where the comfort of my family lies. Ultimately, it is where I long to be and where I find the most joy and peace.
Rylee Duke
Home is based off size. The size of the home, yard, or family is not what I am talking about. The size of the heart in the home is what makes it so special. Home is about comfort and love, so the size of the heart is what makes my home.
Jacob Kuntz
Home is a place where you can let your guard down, whether it’s with certain people or even a specified location in which you feel comfortable, home is whatever you make it.
Max Morgan
My definition of home is where my family is, when I’m with my family I’m comfortable, and I can be myself. When I’m home I can do anything and not be scared of what people think.
Braden Mills
Home to me is a place where I can settle down and feel truly comfortable in the space I’m in. When I’m “home” I want to be able to forget about the inconveniences and hurt in my life, sometimes that can even be through a person.
Gracie Schehl
Home is the house I grew up in with my family members and furry friends. It is somewhere I can de-stress after a long day and always have a support system behind me.
Alexandra Ripley
Home to me is not a place but a feeling that I am overcome with when I am around those that I love. Home is where I feel safe, accepted, and like I can be myself. When I am with the people that I love, I feel like I am finally at home.
Andrew Tyska
I would describe home as a secure and private place, and I would also describe home as a place where I can let go of all of my troubles and worries.
Eliza Aulick
Home is where I go in time of need. Whenever something significant happens, I go home to my parents or friends. Whether it’s exciting and I want to celebrate, or I’m disappointed and need comfort, my friends or parents are always there to support me.
Hannah Blakely
The home I dream of is bright with art work and a complex foundation. Oranges and herbs steep on the stove as their aroma welcomes you in. Full of light from the laughter of my countless soulmates. My home is a reality.
Kayla Clatterbuck
Home is not necessarily a certain place for me, it is the family, friends, and environment that create a place where I feel accepted and appreciated. I feel like there are so many memories that were formed in my house which made my house a home because of the people in it making those special moments happen.
Jillian Griffin
Home is where no matter what happens or when you go, you can go back to that place physically or mentally. Home is the place where you long to go to when in bed at night because it is comforting. Home may not be the place where you came from or where you were raised. It is where you belong in your soul.
Dakota Henthorn
Home is somewhere you feel safe and loved no matter your mood. Somewhere where you can feel accepted no matter what you do. Somewhere you have love but you can also have struggle. Home is where you have your life and can feel the love… but have people that can tell you if you’re in the wrong. Home is love.
Kaitlyn Holeczy
To me, home has many different definitions. My definition of home is the area where you feel safe and share your childhood memories. The pictures and memories in my home make the place a safe place that I would keep safe with all my will. Home is the place where you can be yourself despite your sexuality, gender, or any obstacles in your life. Home is the arms you feel when you are at your breaking point and you are going to burst. Home is your life, your comfort, and your selfish zone.
Towne Moores
Food is home to me. From breakfast in the morning to Christmas Eve dinner, I’ve always felt so much love through a home-cooked meal. Cooking and eating with the ones I love is when I feel most at home.
Lauren Taylor
When I think of the word home, I do not immediately think of a building or a destination on a map. To me, home is where my family is. Home is smelling my mom’s banana bread coming out of the oven, and hearing my dad’s goofy laugh. Home is feeling loved on even your worst days and celebrating on your best. Home is always there to give you a warm embrace.
Ethan Bryant
Home is a place where you can receive unconditional love. No matter what happens, home is a place that can’t push you away.
Sydney Guzolik
My definition of home would be my friends and family. I am always the happiest when I do the little things with my family like playing cards or going out to eat. Whenever I go out with my friends, I am always laughing, there is never a dull moment. I feel that if I didn’t have a close bond with my family and friends, I would not be who I am today.
Logan Kercher
My definition of home consists of a place where I can gather with friends and family. Wheeling has tons of little shops that are family owned and provides opportunities for places to browse with loved ones. The rolling hills and bumpy roads also remind me of home. Swerving in and out of lanes trying to avoid the craters and getting sick from the curving roads are all things that make me feel at home as well as remind me of home.
Riley Richardson
Home is where my family is, not just any family members, mainly just my brother. My parents are very important to me too but there has always been a bond between my brother and I that is irreplaceable. He is my best friend, and we have always been one another biggest supporters no matter where we are.
Michael Shafer
To me, home is not one building or place. Home to me is where my family is.
Nathan Weekley
Home is a place where someone feels that they belong. It isn’t necessarily somewhere that is physical, and it doesn’t have to be somewhere you grew up. Some people stay in the place they grew up because they feel it’s the place they belong. Others leave or travel from place to place because they are in search of their home. I associate home with a sense of belonging and comfort. Others may associate it with familiarity or happiness. Home is wherever you feel like you can be whoever you truly want to be.
Emilee Beihl
My definition of home is a place where you feel like you are the safest, you feel protected, where you can be yourself, and where your family is.
Haley Thompson
What is home you may ask? It’s more than bricks put together to form a house and more than a number on a street. It includes the people there and everything about them, you, and nature. To me home is some place I can turn up my music dance in a baggy hoodie, messy buns, no makeup, and sweat pants while eating chocolate ice cream out of the tub. Home is where I can watch my parents, siblings, and I have family game nights and get pretty competitive. Home is where my older sister and dad make jokes so hard I feel like I am going to pee myself. And lastly, home is something that will always be in my heart and something I will always love.
