my dozen bed circus.

As you may have noticed, I have been feeling a bit down about my pending departure from the United Kingdom. Sometime between chocolate rum milkshakes, walks along the south bank, late night crepe making and political press releases I've started feeling at home in London. A city that once left me awe-struck and overwhelmed is now a source of comfort and familiarity.

On my recent trip to Dublin, I started to think about what makes a home. The obvious answer would be something along the lines of: several hundred nails, 400 feet of lumber, 15 packs of insulation, 50,000 bricks and a dozen sheets of drywall. Or, if you are a nomad like myself it gets quite simple: a bed. My recent sense of home, however (hold on for a bit of something sappy), is shaped by something a little more emotional.

The old saying, "Home is where the heart is," seemed to stick pervasively with me during much of my trip to Dublin. Though I've always found this saying to be true, I struggle with some of the logistical ramifications.

At the moment, I feel my heart is a bit all over the place. A touch is still shovelling snow in New York, while some is playing with the puppy in Pennsylvania. Some is being studious in an Elon editing lab, while other bits are baking cookie's at the Padgett's. My heart in is grilling out at Sam's and taking evening strolls across the Millennium Bridge. And a new addition, at 29 Clifton Gardens, has my heart sitting at night on the cold balcony looking out into the darkened garden, wide-eyed as I try to make out the shapes of the flowers next door.

The more I thought about where my homes were, the more I ceased to think about actual locations, but rather the people who I associate with being there. Indeed, I soon realized that I don't actually have any physical homes, but rather a collection of friends and family who make me feel the comfort and familiarity of a home.

Dublin was a chance to spend time with two of my favourite people in the world. The trip helped me to see that when I leave London next month I am not leaving a new home, but rather leaving the people who make me feel at home here. When I arrive in New York on May 18th I shouldn't feel a sense of loss, but rather one of gain. The stinging disappointment in leaving London only shows how many have had an impact on me while I've been here.

With all these new homes I am a little overwhelmed. It is so wonderful to love so many people but however can I afford the rent?

*Photograph taken in the park in Dublin. From left, Bethany, Myself and Ryan. I love our faces as we struggle to look up towards the bright sky.