How Home Defines You

For me, home was always the same place up until college. Weirdly enough, when I moved away to college, I also moved out of the only house and town I'd ever called home before. From then on, every time I went home from college, it was to a different town in a different house than the place I'd grown up in.

This fundamentally changed the way I saw "home". The town I used to live in versus the town I live in now are very different, but so am I. This got me thinking about the different seasons of life and how where you are changes you and changes how you see yourself in the world.

Moving after high school really helped me to cut that part of my life off and move past my childhood, really helping me to mentally move on and grow into a new person. Sure, I miss my childhood home, but it was also so intertwined in me that it defined who I was. I felt stuck. Moving off to college while simultaneously never having to go back to my hometown except by choice was immensely helpful.

One's home is fundamental to one's identity, so to leave that part of my identity behind was sad at first, but ultimately helpful in my transition to adulthood and in my pursuit of growing into myself as a person.

Another example of home being my identity, I can find in my study abroad program. I moved to London for 11 weeks last summer, which completely changed my identity. Moving to a foreign country and. making it my home forced me way outside of my comfort zone. I know everyone always says study abroad "changed them," and it's generally seen as cliché, but it's true.

I was able to see the world in a way that I never had before, but I was also able to create "home" in places I never thought possible. My mind was opened, and I experienced the greatest period of growth in my life. Different cultures, different food, and different people forced me to think about my place in the world and what exactly I wanted that to be. It pushed me to think about my purpose and who I want to be. Everyone deserves this feeling of home, and more importantly, personal identity.

Our campaign wants to give women who have experienced poverty, addiction, or abuse a way to find their home and thus rebuild their identity. Going through some of the trials I mentioned often leaves people feeling like that is their identity. We don't want that to be the case. Hand Up for Women helps these women rebuild their idea of home and, with that, find their true identity and place in the world. This is something that every single person deserves. Home can be complicated, but it is the greatest gift and tool we can use to grow as people. You can find our campaign on GoFundMe under the name "A Hand for a Home".

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A Hand for a Home

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