1 The Mansion: A Subprime Parable Essay Paper

Belong By: Kevin Valdivia DeVry University Professor: Barbara Monaghan

Belong
Its interesting to think about the ways and methods we use to describe the place where we individually live. If I were to describe my house, I would simply say its an apartment, and the base of the building has a Laundromat. If I were to describe my home however, I would mention my apartment where me, and my family spend our good and bad times together in the living room watching TV and arguing about who is right or wrong about a specific topic at that moment in time. The details are very specific, but I noticed how house and home uses different details for everyone to perceive and use for their own specific opinions. According to Alex Johnson, in 1967, Parliament passes the Leasehold Reform Act which provided a definition to the term house, which is Any building designed or adapted for living in and reasonably so called. (Johnson 2012) Now, as Winifred Gallagher states, Our homes provide us comfort, the spaces within them, as well as the activities that help us feel at home whenever we are surrounded by them. (Gallagher 2002) The pleasure and sanctuary we obtain from our house makes us feel at home. In the end, I like to believe we are all searching for a place to call home for ourselves and for those who we care about. Some people dont care where they live, so long as they can maintain their property. Thats perfectly fine, and in time, that individual might come to learn that their property becomes more than just a home, but rather a place where he or she might feel is a place where you belong.

That sense of belonging in your personal space is easily obtained when you acquire your Dream House because it is the kind of house that is in the kind of space you desire your home to be. There can be many more reasons, but in the end, we want to feel like we belong in this existence, as well as be accepted by the space and people around us. Some people search for a home that they probably already have and just not yet realize what they have. Others search for a long time for a place where they feel as they belong while experiencing the world for themselves. And then theres a house that can be passed down to future generations for that family line to enjoy the comfort of a home where it belongs to members of that family. In Silent Dancing, the family that lived in El Building essentially made it into their home. While it was your average apartment building complex, it became more emotionally meaningful once the family established themselves in their apartment. Their everyday activities became consistent in their apartment. A lot of families can relate to their situation easily considering Ortiz attention to detail, such as the way the heater pipes banged and rattled, startling all of us out of sleep until we got used to the sound, (Ortiz Cofer 2005) reminds me a lot of how the spaces we live in brings back memories of our past experiences and how we can share those experiences with other individuals so that we may grow bonds of friendship and learn from our experiences. One day a visitor could drop by a friends house to sleepover with loud noises at night, and once asked by another person, How can you sleep? The person will respond, Cuz I slept at my friends house. I can sleep through anything!

In Westbury Court, I recall Danticat, along with her brothers watching TV in their rooms. They are having a fun time, living in their home in the apartment building. The house they live in is as ordinary as Ortiz El Building, but the moments you have while living within them defines the home, and its not limited to just the moments you spend in it with others. Its also many other things ranging from how we personalize our spaces as well as learning from our experiences within our personalized spaces. It doesnt matter where you live in the world, this can apply whoever you are. We can all relate in one form or another. Sometimes people can be ignorant, or too inexperienced of being able to relate to someone, but we all live in our own personal spaces just the same. By Alex Johnsons insights, the term House is mostly a title. A term used for a building that is capable of housing residents with landlords watching over the establishments. (Johnson 2012) While matters of the heart can strengthen the meaning of the phrase Home, a house is exactly what it is as described by Johnson. For instance, a landlord wouldnt see his establishments as homes until he or she has a paying individual or family now living in them. Now a hotel manager considers his establishment simply as a hotel, even though we can technically consider it a house, yet more than likely, an individual staying in a hotel room wouldnt consider it a home, mainly because he or she would only be staying for the night or two. A house is mostly a simple term used by society to describe our homes, in my opinion. A term used for people to easily describe, and search for in detail, so that they may find one to change into their personal home.

If we were to consider the meaning of a home, Winifred Gallagher writes about the way people personalize our personal spaces so that they become more meaningful, personal to us, and become a place where we can find tranquility in ourselves in their presence. I find this to be very true. Although this is a major factor in what makes a home a home, there are plenty other factors, such as the pride one has in knowing they maintain their own property so that others know our hardships, and that we let others know we are entitled to our pride. A home nowadays has multiple meanings for people, while some can agree a home is simply where you live with your family. And I mean family in any sense of the word. From friends, to distant relatives, to a collection of pastime memories filled with valuable experiences in the spaces they occupy. In the end, a home is simply another house until we re-shape, personalize, and transform the very meaning of the word to how we prefer our personal space should be. We want to live in a place where we can have that sense of knowing we belong in this home/house, and not just another fancy-looking building, or another common apartment building. Instead we want to be proud to say that these terms are more than just terms, but rather a place where we live and belong.