"Never make your home in a place. Make a home for yourself inside your own head. You'll find what you need to furnish it - memory, friends you can trust, love of learning, and other such things. That way it will go with you wherever you journey." - Tad Williams William Wordsworth's poem, "Lines Written a few Miles above Tintern Abbey," is filled with nostalgic references that the speaker shares with readers about his home and childhood experiences that conjured up vivid memories for me. I have been thinking about what "home" actually means for the last couple of years so this poem spoke to me and helped me delve deeper into the concept. The word "home" is most often thought of as a place rather than a feeling experienced. People tend to think of home - the dwelling or area where they grew up, when in search of comfort or feeling nostalgic. Memories often center around the obvious things - the sights, sounds, smells, family, and friends. In reality, though, it is not any of these tangible things that one is searching for, but rather the familiar, comforting connection or emotion that the memory evokes. We can draw on our memories to ground us when we feel untethered but can never adequately recreate those feelings by only looking backward. Memories are meant to be made not lived in.
I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, which is one of the most beautiful places on Planet Earth. A weekend trip can quite easily accommodate seeing not only volcanoes and rivers but also the Pacific Ocean and big cities. Living in this area allowed for a wide range of activities and experiences that taught me about adventure. I spent many summers camping along the beaches of Oregon and Washington with my grandparents as I grew up. These landscapes often come to mind and could not be stopped from entering my thoughts once more as I read, "Once again do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs" (4-5) because it reminded me of the large rock formations that surround the coastline. As children, we would climb as high as our grandparents would allow, which was never high enough. The views were spectacular and left me with a firm understanding of how small we all are in the grand scheme of things. I believe in these types of experiences because they teach humility in the best possible way.
It has been almost fifteen years since I moved to Alabama, with trips back to the Pacific Northwest being few and far between. I began to notice just how much of an imprint the mountain ranges, coastlines, lakes, and rivers, as well as Seattle's sights and smells, have made on my being as I read, "Though absent long, these forms of beauty have not been to me" (23-24). And again, Wordsworth describes how the memories wash over us, leaving behind a sense of warmth, "In hours of weariness, sensations sweet, felt in the blood, and felt along the heart, and passing even into my purer mind with tranquil restoration: - feelings too of unremembered pleasure" (28-31). Noth...
