My Home

A special place that comes to mind first is my home, my home is basically where I grew up to be me and it’s the only place where I feel 100% comfortable being me.  Not only is the space itself important, but the location has a lot to do with it.  I live in a small town called Lennox, which is located between Inglewood and Hawthorne, and it is where I have been all my life.  Every time I go out somewhere that is not Lennox I feel like an outsider because I am so used to being in one place my whole life. 

My home is also very important because of the objects it holds as well as the people who occupy it and the activities that go on there.  My family is everything to me and everything I do is to make them proud.  They are the only people I trust and the only ones I can count on unconditionally.  Some activities that go on in my house is the celebration of birthdays and holidays.  Since we are one the few people in my family to have a pretty big space, a lot of the holidays and birthdays are celebrated there and it thrills me every time this happens because it shows a sense of unity.  Ansa described a special place to her and shared with us in “The Center of The Universe”, “The image has always made me feel safe.  Sheltered by my surroundings, enveloped in the arms of “family” of one kind or another, mostly southern family.”  This exactly my feelings as well, in my home I am able to feel safe because I know that I am surrounded by people who love me.

There are many objects in my house that I would consider extremely important for me.  Some would include my car, cell phone, computer, clothes, shoes, etc.  There are also objects with no value, such as pictures and home videos, which hold an important meaning for my family. I agree with Kron in “The Semiotics of Home Décor” where he mentions that “If an object reflects a person accurately, it’s an index of status.  But symbols of status are not always good indices of status.  They are not official proof of rank in the same way a generals stars are.”  Meaning that and object does not accurately tell you how a person is, like their personality and their economic status.  For example, in my community if you wear Ugg boots and have more than one pair it means that you have money, since the boots are pretty expensive.  In my opinion this is very false, I personally have three pairs but I am in no way wealthy.  They were just gifts from my parents, which someone can see as “spoiled”, but I disagree.  If your parents buy you something nice it was because they wanted to not because you told them to or forced them to.  Yes they may send some signals to others, but it definitely does not mean that objects represent who you are.

Personally I think that the only message that my home sends to others is that we are very family oriented and traditional.  This being because we have pictures of my sister and I as babies as well as other family pictures around the living room.  My personal belongings in other words might give the message that I probably am a conceited person and that I have money, but that is false.  I worked hard to get my things and some are just plain necessities.  Yes, I will not lie that I do like the “finer” things although many times I cannot afford them but when I can I like to treat myself and I like to dress nice but that’s just my personality.  That type of personality does not affect my relationships with other people.

In the end, I think that a space can really be meaningful although you do not think about it very often.  In my case, if my home was taken away from me I would be forever devastated because it holds memories that cannot be relived.  My home also contains personal objects that shape who I am, but these objects are not a reflection of my personality.  For example, because I like nice things that are sometimes pricey it does not mean that I am wealthy or stuck up because I like to look nice.  That is an attribute between me, myself, and I.  Only you are capable of defining your personality with others with your actions.

Work Cited

Ansa, McElroy Tina. “The Center of the Universe”. Reading Culture: Context for Critical Reading and Writing. Eds. Diana George and John Trimbur. Boston: Pearson, 2012.

Kron, Joan. “The Semiotics of Home Décor”. Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers. Eds. Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon. Boston: Bedford-St. Martins, 2012.