John Chapman - No Place Like Home

No place like home means has many different meanings. To some it means family, home cooked meals, a warm bed, that special spot on the couch, and can even be used as a means of getting you back home if you have the right attire. For me my home is not only all of those meanings, but it is also the most insuring building I have seen. Home is an inspiring building that makes me want to work towards one of my own; an even better one. There is more detail in my home's architecture than there is in any building in the entire world. I can look at a certain part of a blank wall and produce an explanation for why that scratch is there, that little dent hidden behind the picture is there, and what use to hang on that empty nail hole. Probably one of the most memorable architectural pieces of my home is the open entry way and large window as you enter through the front door. Through the years that entry way has witnessed a family move in, a father move out, kids in costumes asking for candy, and Girl Scouts soliciting thin mints. Family has walked in and out during the holidays holding wrapped gifts and hot ready-to-serve home made food, and friends coming over to play on the games and swim. Last year someone new walked through that entry way though, my stepdad and his daughter. It had been a long time since our home had really felt like a home. The laughter had escaped the now dark hallways and the lights seemed dimmer, but since last May there is always something happening and smiles have brighten the house once again. Recently though I have walked through that entry way to come to OU since Norman was once my home and I have dreamed for many years to call it home again. If I had the correct attire I would have said the correct phrase and woke back up in Norman, but I have had to work for it and here I am now, going to OU, studying for a job that will aid me in purchasing my own home where my kids will put scratches on the walls, scuffs on the floor and stains in the carpet, but these characteristics are what make the architecture so memorable and unique. Architecture is the makeup and design of a building including those blemishes that add to the buildings character. A home's architecture can tell a whole different story if told by a certain person, a story that no other building in the world would have. Home is one of a kind and my most inspiring building. 

"There's no place like home."