Struggling to Make a Place Feel Like 'Home'

"I am going back to my room."

You get the keys.
You move in.
You hang a few photos.
You tell yourself, “Okay. This is home now.”

But it doesn’t feel like home, does it?

It feels like a rental.
A layover.
A temporary station between ambition and arrival.

You cook your meals.
You clean your floor.
You get used to the creaks in the hallway.

But your soul?
It doesn’t settle.

Because home isn’t walls.
Home is smells. Sounds. Familiar footsteps.
It’s late-night laughter and early morning tea.

And in this new city, this new country,
you feel like a visitor in your own life.

---

Home isn’t a place.
It’s a feeling.
And it’s okay if that feeling takes time to return.

Because what you’re really doing right now
is becoming your own home.

With every meal you cook,
every photo you hang,
every plant you keep alive,
you’re rooting.

And one day, without realising,
you’ll look around and say,
“This feels like mine.”

Until then,
be patient with the emptiness.
It’s not permanent.

- Akshet Patel