Elijah Cross

EN 101

Definition Essay

5 November 2020

House or Home

Is there a difference between a house and a home? Yes, a house is a structure, but a house

becomes a home when someones finds happiness there. Some say that “home is where the heart

is,” and this is true. Home is where we always feel welcomed and happy when we enter. In his

essay, “Home and Hope,” Matthew Desmond states, “We say that at home we can ‘be

ourselves.’ Everywhere else, we are someone else. At home, we remove our masks” ( 482).

Everyone needs a home and a safe place where he can be himself and not have to fake his life.

Three big things can help people achieve these goals in making a house feel like home. Home is

being surrounded by loved ones, doing things they enjoy, and feeling safe.

Feeling loved and surrounded by people who enjoy someone’s presence is a very

important thing when imagining a perfect home and trying to find happiness. Being around

people that like others for who they are and not for someone they are not makes people feel

better about themselves. Having someone who cares for a person makes people feel that they can

be themselves at all times instead of having to fake their real personalities. People want to do

these things with people they love and enjoy, not individuals they cannot stand. When

interviewing Mr. Baldwin, my metals teacher at my high school, he described the people who

make up his home and how they made him feel. Baldwin responded with, “Home is filled with

family, friends, and others that we can help. These people make us feel loved, wanted, and
needed.” This is true because if we did not feel loved, wanted, and needed, then we would never

have a true home and could never truly be happy.

People doing things they like is a necessity to being happy at home. Doing things they

enjoy makes people happier than doing things they do not enjoy or things they are forced to do.

Happiness is one of the most important things to a sturdy household, when people do things they

enjoy, they become happier because they forget about everything else in the world. Desmond

states in his essay, “When people have a place to live, they become better parents, workers, and

citizens” ( 483). When people have a sturdy household it makes them live better lives, which

leads to a better and happier job, making people have better oppurtunities to provide things such

as love, shelter, food, and support.

When thinking of home, people like to feel safe and have people around them that they

know they can trust.When people feel safe, they tend to do things they usually wouldn't and it

helps them experience the most in life, including becoming engaged citizens and using their time

for worthwhile causes. Feeling safe makes people feel that they can be themselves instead of

hiding their true selves. The most important thing to have to make people feel safe, is friends and

family that they can trust with anything without having to worry. For me, the most important

people in my life that make home feel like home are my mom, dad, and sister. I know that I can

always trust them and they will always have my back no matter what.

Three things that make a house a home are being surrounded by loved ones, doing things

we enjoy, and feeling safe. These three things are the most important pieces to having a happy

home. Everyone has a different opinion on what home means to them, but without these things, it

is hard to stay happy and have a sturdy home. In every home, people need specific people in their
homes that make them feel safe, trusted, and loved. In my interview, Baldwin said, “The person

that makes my house feel like home is my wife.” This does not mean that people have to have a

spouse to be happy; it could be someone’s best friend, someone’s brother, someone’s father,

anyone that they know they can trust. Doing things people enjoy is also important because it

helps clear their heads from stressful things going on in their daily lives. Finally, feeling safe

makes people feel like they can do anything without having to worry because they know they

have people that they can trust and will always have their backs.
 Works Cited

Baldwin, Stan. Personal Interview. 25 Oct. 2020.

Desmond, Matthew. “Home and Hope.” ​Acting Out Culture: Readings for Critical Inquiry,

James S. Miller, 4th ed., Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2018, pp. 482-488.