I come very a very diverse ancestral background. In a lot of ways I am more or less a mixed breed. Because of this I have never tried to trace my heritage back to a different country or nationality. By all accounts, I consider myself an American. As such I have always regarded home as the place I grew up...the old neighborhood if you will. I grew up on the North Shore, and for a long time lived within a locational bubble. As a child I recognized the world mainly as my town because it contained everything i needed. Friends, family, school, athletics...the list goes on.
Then high school rolled around and my parents started to entertain the idea of moving to Maine. Initially I resisted the idea very forcefully. After some persuasion on their part I gave in and played along, hoping that things would turn out right. Push came to shove only to find out that they didn't. For the first 2 years after the move our family life was in complete shambles. My parents felt at home, but I didn't. It was a terrible experience but a learning one.
I soon learned that I had two options. I could let things stay as they were, or I could finally set up shop in a new town. The moment I began considering my new home as "home" things began to improve. After a period of time I felt like I had done a complete 180. A place I hated soon became a home to me. I found that ultimately I didn't lose a home, I gained a new one.
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I have had trouble with my idea of home as well because my family is from so many different places, so I can relate to you. However, I have never moved so I do not know what it is like not to feel at home in a place that is supposed to be your home, so I would have liked if you had described why after you moved to Maine you had not felt at home.
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