The place that I call home brings me a sense of security and acceptance. As a home staging intern, I’ve learned how to turn an empty house into a place that people can picture being their home. Yet, after decorating houses with ample loads of home decor, it’s still missing something. Something that materials just can’t fill. What I’ve learned makes a house a home, is the unconditional love from the people inside it. The kind of love that can make anywhere feel like home.
I know that I’m home when I feel safe enough to be my full self while knowing that I will be loved and accepted no matter what. When I’m home, I don’t have to worry about being judged. When I’m surrounded by my family at home I feel a strong sense of love and belonging. My family has built a home out of our house through a foundation of love, floors of solid ground, walls of support, and a roof of protection.
What I have reflected to be what really allows a house to be a home is not materialistic items, not even the house itself, but really the people that fill it with love. It’s the feeling that I don’t have to be anyone but myself when I’m home around the people that love me. Home is a place where people should feel like they belong. My house became a home because I feel like I belong where I’m loved and supported. My home becomes more of a home everyday through the ever-growing love that accompanies it.