Aman Alchokr
What is Home?
How are first generation immigrants addressing the concept of home in the United States, and how do they define it?
When people think of the word home, they picture a small house with four windows and a red door. It is the warmth, happiness and the perfect place for everyone, poor or rich. However, the real representation of home as a concept is more than the materialistic definition. Home is the place where anyone feels comfortable and able to build a family. It provides a community that will always be there to help and support.
Home is an intersectional concept. It carries a diverse amount of meanings, and sometimes, home is not the physical land, but the concept of where one belongs and is usually where family is because home is where the heart is. Much more profound meanings can also define home, and it can take many different forms depending on the given situation, background, and traditions. Verlyn Klinkenborg defines the word “home” as where people can stand on their feet. Wherever one’s currently living, that place can be a home. It can be a combination of our favorite songs, TV shows, places, books, or people—it is the composition of everything that creates this feeling of contentment and comfort. Can immigration and relocation change the concept of home or even create a new one and shift the beliefs with those experiencing it. Is it possible to have more than one definition? Does it reinforce the old concept that we have always known? Through my thesis, I created a book that documents different answers to the definition of home from first generation immigrants who are currently living in the U.S. in order to show diversity, introduce people to the emotional aspect and to explain further changes that happen when this transition occurs.
Home is a word that carries lots of emotions and meanings. What is most unique and beautiful about it is that it is incredibly different for each one of us. The journey towards finding the definition of home should be an uplifting step that carries constructive solutions towards success and accomplishment.
1. DINESH BHUGRA, M. Migration, cultural bereavement and cultural identity. PubMed Central (PMC), 2021
2. Klinkenborg, Verlyn. “The Definition of Home.” SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE, May, 2012.
The book cover is meant to resemble the house roof, which provides comfort, peace and contentment.
Watch and read full book on Issuu: