[music]
I have lived in three different countries with two families and by myself.
I had a life in each city and made each a home
and at times, I belonged to several places at once.
My accent doesn't tell you where I'm from. And neither do my cultural references.
Which can be quite confusing
and I've often wondered what home means to me and what makes a home.
London, where I live now, earned the title practically overnight.
I'm only 21 and this is the first place I don't share.
It's a city I got to know by myself
and a life I'm sort of building from the ground up.
And I've come to realize that I fall in and out of love with homes
the way you fall in love with people.
Chapter one.
Crush.
I'm at London sort of by accident.
Once, as a tourist, I was on a school trip during my last year of highschool
contemplating my options of where to go next
never even considering London!
But then I fell head first into this place.
And out of the blue, I felt like I could belong there.
It's like going to a party you didn't necessarily plan on going to
and seeing someone from across the room at a glance and everything just stops.
For a moment.
And afterwards you can't quite shake the feeling of connection.
You can't get them out of your head.
After I got home, London was all I could think about.
And, suddenly, it was everywhere.
In the map hung above my desk,
in books, and movies.
I was enamoured by a city I had only been to once.
Chapter two, taking a chance.
I decided to move to London a couple months later, which felt like the only plausible next step and sort of like asking someone out.
Acting on this feeling of being drawn to something that you have yet to really connect with.
There comes a moment where you either act on your feelings, or you let them be.
Only that, instead of putting all my eggs in one basket, I put all my things in a suitcase.
And I made my move.
Literally. I decided to study here.
The first step towards something potentially amazing.
I've never been an impulsive kid, I'm very careful, but when it comes to love and the pursuit of happiness I take the plunge.
Because some things are just worth the risk.
Chapter three.
First dates.
The first few weeks of living here were like first dates.
Living somewhere, really living, post code and mailbox included is experiencing a city in a whole new way.
Getting to know the people, the streets, the sounds.
The day to day life.
Everything felt new and exciting and had my eyes wide in awe.
In the beginning, I still carefully the tube map and hesitated at the end of streets, unsure which direction to turn in.
And I stopped and stared at every corner.
Chapter four, love.
And then, without really stopping to think about it
I had fallen in love.
I fell in love with the way the city smiles in the sun and grows quiet in the night.
Or contemplative in the rain.
The first Christmas after moving here, I had boarded a plane to go visit my family
and it took just a little more effort to fasten my seatbelt
and leave this place that had so completely overwhelmed me in such a short amount of time.
A place becomes your home when your mind calms down.
When you reach a level of comfort that comes from the people that surrounds you.
The language you use to express yourself,
the café around the corner you pass by every morning on your way to uni,
small-talk with the pizza guy you probably see too often,
a very, very comfy bed,
an accumulation of memories stuck to the wall with photos,
or knowing the tube system by heart.
Like in every relationship, we certainly have bad days.
When the city is too loud, too busy, too hectic.
When I'm too tired and I don't want to be here.
I want to be anywhere but here.
But those days pass.
When you love your home, you stay.
For the ups and downs.
Chapter five, the future.
With London, I seem to have found my match.
I feel more at home than ever before,
I'm the most comfortable I've ever been with myself,
and I don't want to think of this feeling ever fading.
But, who knows what the future holds?
I'm only 21.
All I know is that right now, I'm here, and I'm in love with this city and everything we share.
And I made it my home because of that.
This has been my experience with homes but I want to hear about yours too.
Have you ever fallen in or out of love with your home?
Leave it in the comments, I'm curious to hear what you have to say.
And I will see you guys next time.