For the narrator of the Back, but not Home, who is Maria L. Muniz, the meaning of home is a place wherein she have experienced many things and that includes not only the good times, but the difficult times as well. For her, the home she considers is the place that she was molded into someone she never thought that she would become; the place where she became a person that no one assumed that she would turn out to be; the place that she suffered when she was in the verge of learning things her way; the place where she shed many tears; the place that gave her so much pain; the place where she was required to strive harder; the place that gave her the compassion to learn the hard way. Undeniably, the home for her is an area that she regarded as something that inlfuenced her greatly in terms of her maturity with all the discomfort and hurt she have suffered from.
In living her life in what she considered as home, Maria Muniz learned many things because of the incidents or events she have experienced. One of the things she have learned is to live and stand for her own self. It became a part of her system to think positively and work for something that would benefit her. Instead of dwelling on the hurtful things people do or say to her, she managed to think on the brighter side of those occurrences that gave her a positive energy in pursuing her dreams. Even though she have been ridiculed in her kindergarten years wherein she was incapable of voicing out her thoughts, she still survived the struggles that came her way and was able to become somebody who has something to be proud of. Another lesson she has learned is that whatever may happen, one must still bare in his or her mind that past, may it be positive or not, is a major factor why we’re able to survive our future and to consider it as an essential part of his or her own self.
As I have stated a while ago, Maria Muniz was capable of learning the things while she live her life. Although it was apparent that most of her experiences were mostly painful in nature, still it has a positive impact in her life and that it shaped her eventually as she conquer the battle she have been into. Her struggle in learning the lessons she have learned started when she went away from her first home which is Cuba. She said that whenever she wakes up, she found herself crying because of her dreams which is about her aunts and grandmothers. Evidently, she struggled with the sad experience of being away from her other relatives which were left back in Cuba. It can be said then that the way she was shaped by those experiences are more on the difficult side and had many instances of being lonely about it, yet found a way to survive thos occurrences in her life. She was able to be strong enough to stand for herself apart from her experiences and it helped her to be a better individual.
On my experience on the other hand, I can say that for me a home is somewhere I can be confident with every little thing that I do. It’s a place where I can pour out whatever feelings I have inside. It’s somewhere that I don’t have to fake what I feel or what my thoughts are. It is where I can proudly say that gives me more positive energy whenever I needed it. A home for me is a certain place where I can feel that I am wanted, needed, and most of all, loved. It is where I can show my real self to others without pretensions. This is where I can attain all the confidence that I needed. Apparently, I consider a home as my comfort zone wherein I can just be myself anytime of the day. It is where I don’t need to do things in other people’s way, instead I can do things in my own simple way just as I wanted them to be. In my home, there’s no need to fake my emotions, my thoughts, my actions.
For me, my home would include me being a single mom and I must say that I have learned variuos things from that particular event in my life. Definitely, my home would also include my daughter whom I love so much. She is such a very essential part of me and that she is a wonderful gift that was given by God. I draw my strength from her which keeps me going in the things that are coming my way. Without her, my home wouldn’t be complete. No matter how difficult life may be, as long as I have my daughter by my side, I can firmly say that my home is where I always wanted to be. That my life indeed is a beautiful thing to be appreciated and be thankful for.
Home in it’s simplest term is quite essential for each and everyone. As for me, it is important in a sense that I have learned many things from it, in it, and as a result of it. From my home, I realized that being able to inspire other people is really a big thing not only as for myself, but for the people whom I have inspired. I have also learned that in a home, there’s always a comfort we can find which for my case, my daughter is the one I consider as my comfort. Beyond that, there’s more to it. In a home, struggles are also found and in those struggles, I also learned various things. I have learned to forgive, to care, to love, to value people who surrounds me, to understand their incapabilities, to be tolerant to their negative feelings or attitudes, and to appreciate them even though they have their own issues in life.
My home has shaped me to the certain degree that I truly think and feel that I am complete now more than ever. My daughter, who is a very important factor why I became who I am now, is the sole happiness I have. And through her, I can found certain, unexplainable joy and experience pure bliss which made me appreciate life better.
