"What makes a house a home?" by Miranda Torres-Alba

Many would say some type of affection or adoration of the physical house. Those grand four walls encasing memories and a type of motherly love raining down from the ceiling that makes the owner or habitant of the house feel secure and at ease. Not only that, but the ability to recount the years and milestones through dents, stains, and familiar sights sends a feeling of nostalgia and emotion down our bodies, creating the same feeling that one has with an old friend or possession. Although this is only one of the many major perspectives that are shared among people, it is clear that we search for comfort in physical objects and thus ourselves create a world of intimacy based off said items. For example, as a child I found great comfort in being accompanied by a toy which, nowadays, thoughts of it bring a sense of fondness to me when it was never a truly protecting or necessary thing. But, we as people like to romanticize our lives so we can find color and light in the most mundane aspects of our lives. So, this is why many would reply with the adoration of the physical house.

A house by itself is just rooms, floors, windows, tiles, lights, and doors, but once you start loving the corners of the garden, the spot where the crib used to be, the crack in the door frame due to a silly attempt to climb the actual door, the tile which has a spot that is shaped like a heart, the house gains so much value. An apartment may just be a 20 ft by 35 ft living room, two small bedrooms, a shower, a kitchen, but if the tenant creates a mental place where they can fall back onto the 20 year-old carpeted floor of the 20 by 35 room and still feel relaxed, then they would have given the apartment value and thus created a home. And, that’s not even including furniture. Furniture is the cherry on top for the concept of a home. Furniture includes pictures of your 3rd grade class where half the kids had one of their front teeth missing, the china set that you inherited from your grandma that you know that it at least dates back to WWI, the blanket that your best friend knitted for you for your 14th birthday, or the mattress that you outgrew but still use. Furniture is what you adorn your house with, making it reflect your inner you more and with that, produce a bigger sense of comfort. For example, when I was 13, I decorated my bedroom with One Direction posters because I did feel happiness by looking at them and they, as well, reminded me of a tender image I had of the band in my head (I do not have these up any longer, but I would like to add that I will be attending a Harry Styles’ concert in June). However, similarly to the toy, these did not serve any functional purpose or practicality, they were just a choice I had made to give a bigger homely sensation to a room I had found to have a great deal of comfort. So, not only does our input of energy onto the physical house create a home, but what we make of it is a substantial part, as well. What we decide to place upon the walls that we stare and visit every day is up to us, then placing upon our hands the responsibility for our own contentment and pleasure in our lives. A house will only be a home if we take care of the house, if we love the house, if we appreciate the house, and if we wish to make a home out of the house. A house is a house by itself, but with warm bodies full of love and spark inside, it can be a home.

So, you might be thinking: what’s your point? Is your point that we should go over to Macy’s or Target and buy as many decorative candles and fake plant pots to make a house truly a home? Well, no. If you find a home in buying as many “vanilla cream” scented candles and placing them in your bathroom’s tub, then that is what you should do. There is no set criteria or standard to fulfill which would make a house a home. That is entirely up to the owner and what they themselves find comfort in.  A home is what you make it.