People and animals need a place to call home. Home is a general term with different views and perceptions. Some may view home as a house, an apartment, town, district, or country where an individual lives. The disadvantaged individuals such as the old and people with disabilities, who cannot take care of themselves, consider their respective support centers home. Therefore, one may define home as a place of residence or a place where an individual seeks refuge. In some instances, home could be viewed as a building within which an individual or family lives and store their earthly belongings. In the case of animals, a home may be a natural habitat of a wild animal, though the domestic animals share the same home with man. It is most notable, however, that a home is not perceived to be a physical location itself but mental and emotional states of comfort. This article aims to bring out the ideologies, attitudes and values attached to specific home spaces.
Families where individuals come from are often referred to as homes because they determine the behaviors and attitude of individuals, especially children. In a peaceful Kuwaiti family characterized by serene background, children spend quality time with their family members and they find it so upsetting whenever they set out to places like school. Typical Kuwaiti families are very polite in their language therefore students from Kuwait who study in countries like U.S. may always want to return to their country (O’Shea & Spilling, 101).
Further, a home may be considered as a special place that is so dear to one’s heart and an invaluable possession for this matter. In many countries, for instance, owning the physical residential buildings where people live is an indication of stability no matter the place where the home is located- be it rural or urban settings (Fontaine, 30). Homeowners are seen to overstay in a given locality because they are not affected by changes in rents leading to a reduced migration from place to place (Fontaine, 30). It is common phenomenon that homeownership culminates into high self-esteem among landlords since it is always associated with a greater life satisfaction compared to tenants. Despite all these, a home should have a balanced relationship with the environmental factors of the site and the lifestyle choices of its inhabitants. For instance, in Kuwait, everybody desires to have a home where the daily hustle and bustle of their homes is completely out of reach of passersby by all means.
Suffice it to say, homeownership in countries like Kuwait is quite discriminatory in nature since the Kuwaiti government apparently fail to empower women in its loan policies to own homes. The government instead encourages the males to build homes through the low-interest loan policy initiative (IBP, 40). This policy has led to the replacement of mud-walled structures with the modern-style homes in most parts of the country (Etheredge, 46). It is quite unfortunate that landlords, on their side, do not provide rental services to women unless they provide a proof of marriage (IBP, 40).
Nonetheless, an individual in a foreign country considers the mother country as the only home. While in a foreign country, an individual meets quite a number of challenges such as changes in food types, weather, culture, people and languages of expression as well as means of socialization (Storti, 13). Kuwaiti national who relocates to the U.S. will find it quite challenging to adapt to the new cultures due to the difference in language and mode of dressing. However, Storti argues that these challenges are likely to fade over time as the migrating individual increasingly familiarizes him/herself with the foreign practices of his/her new home (13). At this juncture, the idea and memory of the home country vanishes without a trace.
Cultures and norms in any home are not permanent and individuals away from the places they call home are likely to find it difficult adapting to the changes when they come back (Storti, 12). This prompts an assertion that home is a place where an individual feels safe with the people and activities around them. Just as one would feel in a foreign land, people always experience the same when they go back to their homelands- a phenomenon known as culture shock (Storti, 15). This attests that there is no specific place to call home; the perception of home is all about feeling of safety and love that one can get from a place. This explains why children and adults with physical and mental disabilities term nursing and care facilities home because they are the only place where they feel secure and have their nursing needs met therein.
Considering the perception of different religions, home is a state of mind and emotional belief. Religions such as Islam and Christianity believe that there is life after death and there exists better homes away from the earthly ones. This is attributed to the belief that there is a supernatural being who guarantees life after death for those who believe in him — a home called heaven. Therefore, despite the fact that home is viewed as a state of mind in which an individual sees a place as peaceful and secure, home remains a place of possession with a price tag. A home is place where an individual can get the basic needs such as food and shelter (Reimer, Xiii).