Spring Break is coming soon; some people will go home for a week. But, what is home? If you are heading back home, what is your definition of home? Is home just the place that you grew up and that your family still resides in? That is what home is for some people, but not for everyone. I know plenty of people would not call where they grew up and where their family lives home. Home can have many different definitions depending on the person. For some people, that is where they grew up, but for other people, they do not feel safe there; they can not be themselves there. You can make your home wherever you want. I have always heard the saying that home is where the heart is. So, if that is true, how can home be where you are called the wrong name? How can home be a place where you do not feel safe to be the true self that God made you to be? Home should be wherever you feel safe to be your true self. I know that for some people, home is here at college. At college, they have friends who affirm and treat them with respect. This group is called a chosen family, a group of people you feel comfortable with and safe with. You can not choose the family members you are born with, but you can select the people you spend time with and let down your inner circle.
Do not get me wrong, I love my family and think family is important. At the same time, if your family does not treat you with the love and respect that you deserve as a human being, do not put time and effort into that relationship. Instead, look for a group of people who love you for who you are without having to change.
The idea of a chosen home and a chosen family tend to be more prominent in the LGBTQ+ community, but that is not to say that it is exclusive to the LGBTQ+ community. This tends to be because sometimes family will not accept the fact that their child is LGBTQ+. If that is the case, why would you want to call a place that does not take you for who you are home?
Make your home a place where you feel safe, relax, and let your guard down. Home is where you are surrounded by people who love you and express that to you. So, when you ask people if they are going home for Spring Break, remember that home could be anything.