A Four Letter Word

I have ridden atop camels. I have learned Arabic. 

I celebrated Sinterklaas. I made a little dutch boy dress up as a princess; every morning play time. 

I have travelled, learning so many new things. What I never learned was where I felt at home. 

Home (noun): A four letter word that can make someone feel safe and at ease. What happens when you take the certainty out of home? 

Two years ago, I would have told you my home was an airport terminal. I would have shared the security tips and tricks. 

I could, and still can, tell you the best restaurants for time in Heathrow, Shannon and Dublin airport. 

I could have told you the stories I made up about the yellow bear at Hamad airport in Doha, Qatar. 

My home is unorthodox, at least to my family and friends. If you were to ask them, they would tell you that their home is limerick, Ireland. No questions, no hesitations. I would envy them, because my home seemed far less material. 

When I think about my future after I graduate, I am looking at the world as somewhere I feel happy about travelling, and making my home as I go. My friend, he can’t wait to move home, and go to college in his home state. 

So ask me again, ask me where my home is. It is a four letter word that has me questioning everything I have been through and everywhere I have ever been.

My answer now: my home is with them. With the people I love. I have a home in Ireland, Qatar, Denmark and The Netherlands. I have a home with the people I have met and the people who treated me as family.

So yes, home is a four letter word. It is concrete, and yet it is sometimes uncertain. Home is someplace where there is a feeling of safety and happiness.Home isn’t:  a place, consistent, geographical. 
My home isn’t  just a four letter word.

Home is: safe, happy, my passport, my family and friends. 
My home changes with the price of currency. 
I felt at home dragging my Grandfather to a McDonalds in Amsterdam on Christmas Day because dinner took too long to cook. 

I felt at home riding a stubborn horse at Sealine resort in Doha. 

I felt safest roaming around airport terminals; watching businessmen and families navigate the halls. 

I felt happiest, handing over my passport, ready to discover my new home with the people closest to me. 

I have biked through Copenhagen. I have learned Danish. 

I have celebrated St. Patrick's day. I have made Christmas wreaths with a little Irish boy. 

I have redefined what that four letter word means to me. 

I have made my home mine.