Chicago, Home Away From Home

For many of Loyola students, no matter where from, Chicago is another place they can call home. But what is really “home” anyway? What do we really mean when we ask someone where they are from? Do we want to know where they were born? Where they grew up or where they are currently living?

For my part, home is where the heart lies. I know, it’s really cheesy and cliché but it is also very true. I have called many places home at the same time. I was born and raised in France, my mom is from Benin and my dad is from Congo. I have studied abroad in Spain, Canada, and China and this is my last semester as an international student in Chicago. In this sense, to me home is at the same time the place of origin and the place where you find comfort. I call Paris home because it is where I grew up and where my family is but I also call Chicago home because I have been here for the last three years now.

Studying in Chicago I have found many friends that I hope to keep around me forever, and familiarized myself with places that were unknown to me three years ago. You need to be away from home to know you miss it but then you make another one without ever forgetting where you came from before.