Baton Rouge has become a place most of us call “home,” but as we approach graduation and finish finals, many of us will be leaving our home and the people in it.
Our home isn’t just the permanent address our mail gets delivered to. It’s more than the four-wall structure with family pictures and familiarity. Home is a sense of security, belonging and community. A house is a shelter; a home is what you build and surround yourself with. It’s a state of mind.
Released in 2022, the song “Shakin’” by the band HAPPY LANDING encapsules this ideal. At the 2 minute and 34 second mark, you’ll hear lead singer, songwriter and founder of the band, Matthew Hendley sing the lyrics, “I see rivers, oceans, coastline / Home is just a state of mind.”
These lyrics have been streamed over 44,000 times, played in countless cities around the country and are tattooed on the arm of a fan, but what do they mean?
“The old saying ‘home is where the heart is’ in my opinion doesn’t necessarily mean the heart has to be in a specific geographic location or place – it’s more about what’s within your heart,” Hendley said. “When home is just a state of mind, you can take it with you. It means that no matter the circumstances, you can find ‘home’ wherever you are, as long as you are surrounded by good people.”
Home is a place where we make memories, a place where we are free to authentically exist without judgment. When we’re homesick, it’s not the physical structure we long for, rather we’re craving the smell of a home-cooked meal, a hug from our parents or sleeping in our own bedroom in our own bed without roommates. We miss the daily routines we once lived and a version of ourselves that may no longer exist.
“Home is a universal feeling. Home is where you are loved,” Hendley said. “And when you are loved, you know you are home.”
The genesis of HAPPY LANDING involved five college students in Oxford, Mississippi, building a home away from home. Or, in fiddler, mandolinist and backup vocalist Andrew Gardner’s experience, building a home within his hometown. It wasn’t until the band started touring that his sense of home and belonging were put at risk, and he had to fully discover home being a state of mind.
“This line, I think, perfectly sums up the only way to survive the road, and any hard thing that might find someone away from home,” Gardner said. “If you’re surrounded by the right people, home is wherever you take yourself. It follows you if you let it.”
Just because you leave home doesn’t mean it leaves you. It becomes a piece of you, a piece of the puzzle building your future.
The end of the semester isn’t a “goodbye” to a place we call home, it’s a “see you later.” As you embark on your next adventure, remember that whether you see rivers, oceans or coastlines, “home is just a state of mind” and you can always find your way back to it.
Lauren Madden is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Mandeville.
