The concept of home is a funny thing. People say the home’s where the heart is. It’s where he is or she is. It’s a place, it’s not a place, it’s everything and anything and nothing. I remember back in college (*insert elderly woman’s voice as I say that*) I wrote my senior seminar thesis paper on the idea of home – how elements of design that appear in nature can make me feel like I’m home, regardless of my physical location. It sounds rather intense and heavy, but mostly I talked about lines and trees and light, how they all can be concepts of home.
Coming off summer, and in fact – a year and a half of “knowing what I’m doing”, and being pretty solidly set in the home, I’ve been revisiting the concept of what it means to be at home – to create a home, or feel at home. It’s one thing to do it when I have the seasons mapped out, knowing where I’ll be or what I’ll be doing, where I’ll be living. When things are constant, steady, known, it’s pretty easy for me to feel at home. It’s quite another, though, to create a home and feel at home when there is chaos – even exciting, happy chaos.
Seasons of Transition
The original reason these thoughts on home came up is because I’m in a season of change, a season of transition. This past month I moved out of my parent’s place after a summer of guiding backpacking trips – two places and seasons where I was surrounded with familiar people and routines that both felt very much like home. A quick timeline recap so we’re all on the same page.
May, 2018:
Quit my job (graphic designer) that I’d had for 2+ years
June – August, 2018:
Worked as a mountain guide at Beyond Malibu (recap coming soon)
September 2018:
Rested body and mind. Came back from the summer happily exhausted and worn out.
October 2018- Present:
Moved to a different small town in Washington (there are no stoplights here). Left behind “corporate” job for work as a barista.
The theme? Transition. Change. In and out of places, circles of people, and routines. Leaving one home from another. Returning home from home, all of these different groups and locations and variations in daily life. So here I am – trying to create home and discover what the meaning of home is in the midst of semi-constant motion and chaos. The process of a move was disorienting if I’m being honest. Suddenly even my habits were different, thrown off by a new work schedule and about a million other things. After a month of being in my new place, I think I’m on my way to solidifying this feeling of home here (even though I’ll be leaving in a few months, anyway… more on that later).
Fresh Beginnings
I finally feel ready to find words again, especially as it relates to being on the blog. I’m not sure that I necessarily have all the words I need, but I am happy that I’m in space again to search. As for what that means for this space – probably that posts will move in somewhat new directions that reflect my current status post-summer (wellness, lifestyle, my aim to continue creating despite not being in a “creative job”, bits and pieces of style, this idea of home).
When it comes to home, then, I also want this blog to feel like I home. I would love to be a source of inspiration for you all – and while I’m still working out just what that looks like, I hope you’ll join me in the process. Oh, and as for the pictures in this post: a small look into what the physical environment of the home is for me right now. So thankful to live in such a beautiful place!