Relationships Blog

A place that I consider home lies in a land far, far away from where I am from. This place that I envisioned of home is in Dallas, Texas. When I was in Dallas, Texas, at my Uncle Mike’s house, it was almost a dream come true. I don’t know if it was the fact that it was so much different from Chicago or the fact that I had an experience that I would never forget that made me feel like I had belonged there all along. “Home sweet home” is what I like to call it. In order for me to further explain these feelings I had, I have to start from the beginning of how I was once depressed, and I escaped to a place that was so blissful and safe that I called it my new home.

I was about 12 years old when I first went to my Uncle’s house in Dallas. My mom had saved up enough money for my twin brother and me to take a plane for the first time to go spend our spring break with our Uncle Mike in Dallas. My twin brother, Jason, was just as excited as I was to go there. It was our first time getting on a plane and leaving the state by ourselves. My Uncle Mike is a former NFL cornerback who played for a Super Bowl Patriots team in 1996 so he made a lot of money playing football and was smart enough to manage it in order for him to still live in luxury. My Uncle is a role model to me. He grew up in a rough neighborhood like me and worked hard to be in the NFL while also remaining humble in the process. I can count on him whenever I am in need of money, school, or even advice about life. He was just a phone call away and he never let me down. Being that my Mom didn’t make enough money to take vacations with us, she couldn’t come with us but she made sure that we were able to enjoy our spring break by sending us there. After the first time visiting, it became a tradition because every spring break we would spend it there. It was so good to get away from Chicago and all the violence that was going on so I used that opportunity to relax and not worry.

When I got off the plane, my brother and I was greeted by friendly travelers who were from Texas that helped us find our bags. The one thing I remembered the most about Texas was the hot weather. It was perfect weather for me because even in the spring time, it would still be cold in Chicago so it was nice to feel hot weather. Once I saw my Uncle’s car, I immediately was attached to it as if I had seen my soul mate. It was a brand new jet black 2008 Mercedes Benz with customized chrome rims, a car that I thought I would not only see, but ride in my dreams. The seats had built in back massagers and a television in the front and back of the car. The best thing about the car was that it drove as if we were floating on air. Driving in the car, people looking at us as if we were movie stars, really made a huge impact on my life as well as my priorities in life. I knew one day that I would be driving in a car like that and I would be a successful person.

In Dallas, or at least the part we were in, seemed so peaceful. There were little kids outside playing football with their parents, people waving at us as we drove by, clean streets, and not one police siren was on throughout of the neighborhood. The air was even better there. It smelled like flowers and rain as if it had rained the night before so that on that day the sun would shine. When we pulled up into my Uncle’s driveway, I was amazed at what I had seen. I was staring at a house that looks as if it were a castle built fit for a king of England. Jason and I just stood there with our mouths open in utter shock.

The inside of this big white house was even more glamorous than the outside. Inside of the house had a huge chandelier at the front entrance that was so big. The stairs lead to the second floor and the first floor/basement. It smelled like an open meadow and scented candles all around the house. Just on the first floor alone was a game room that was filled with a big screen television, a pool table, a mini golf set, and even a huge pacman arcade game right in the corner. This was where we probably had the most fun. When we was bored, we all went down there and played NBA 2k and my uncle would always cut off the game when he was losing. On the second floor it was a dining room that looked like the entire furniture was made out of glass itself. Also, in the middle of the room there was a huge flat screen television that played nothing put football games all day. To the left of that was the kitchen that smelled if pizza beagles and chicken that had just come out of the pan. The 3^rd floor to the building was my favorite floor of all, the bedrooms. It had three bedrooms, a room that looks like a lounge, and two bathrooms with walk in showers’ which was something I had never seen before with my own eyes. I can honestly say that I had never had or slept in my own room before I went there. At one point during my life, I was sharing a bed with my twin brother while also sharing a room with my two other brothers. It was so nice to sleep in a bed to myself and not have to wake up taking pain pills for my back.

Being away from my real home in Chicago was different but in a so much better environment for me. In Dallas, I didn’t have to worry about going outside and being afraid that I would get shot or jumped on. I never once had to worry about police breaking down our doors to chase a criminal or worry about my house getting broken into. I think the best thing about being in Dallas was that I felt protected at all times. In Dallas, people protected their own or how John Berger said it “safeguarding the property” in The Meaning of Home. It is a special feeling when I go there not only because I am having fun, but also because that was the only time I could go to sleep in peace and quiet from the outside world. When I am away from Dallas, I sometimes find myself dreaming as if I was still there and when I would wake up from my dream, I would feel sad and sometimes lost as if I was home sick from being away from my true home.

When we were on our way to the airport to go back to Chicago, I would sit in the back seat and cherish my last moments in the car. I probably used about every device I could use back there that I couldn’t use in my Mom’s car. I had an amazing feeling in that luxury car that I would want to have again someday and I think after being in that car, I was determined to work so much harder in everything that I did so that one day I would be the one driving a luxury car like that. When I got out of the car, the thriving, excited, and joyful feeling I had escaped me as if all of my belongings had been taken away from me. I still to this very day keep a picture in my phone in order to motivate me to be a successful person in life and hard work is the only way I am going to get it. I want to have that same feeling of safety, comfort one day in that place I called home in my own little utopia back in Dallas, Texas.