“Where we love is home – home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Homes are undeniably paramount in our lives. Just as animals have lairs and mark their territories, people have fundamental attachments to certain places. As humans, however, we tend to add layers of significance to these places. Homes have transcended from being a mere piece of land covered by concrete walls into a sanctuary, where valuable memories are made and remembered. It becomes a stronghold amidst the depressing and somber reality that many of us are forced to live in.
For this reason, I often feel that I am unconsciously drawn to the concept of homes. Whenever I venture to foreign places overseas, the foremost thing that enthralls my attention is the residential buildings that encompass the area; be it the rustic and vintage woodworks of the northern countryside, or the soaring skyscrapers of modern cities that seem to pursue each other on their way to claim the skies. These views are truly a sight to behold.
My country, however, does not seem to enjoy a similar privilege. Time and time again, my heart is enveloped by a sense of melancholy after coming home from these trips. As I passed through the rural parts of town on the way back home, what I witnessed was eerily close to a dystopian land; grotesque, deteriorating homes dirtied with graffiti were scattered along one side of the road. The other side was even worse. It was difficult to call those buildings homes; they were rotten planks of wood stuck together, supported by poles of bamboo that seemed ready to collapse anytime soon.
When I was little, I often wished that a supernatural power could transform these crumbling settlements into something beautiful; something better. Sadly, as I grew up, the harsh reality dawned on me.
Such a thing would never happen.
Once, my father recounted tales of struggles that he heard people endured just to procure a livable home. He explained that this detrimental deficit of proper homes has been an endless problem that the Indonesian government has been trying to solve, albeit the effort has been futile. While the looming presence of poverty has been the main cause for this dilemma, a factor he highlighted to be the crux of the problem is the lack of proper developers to accommodate the requirements of 250 million people. There is enough land; Indonesia is the fourteenth largest country in the world by area, after all. What Indonesia needs is more engineers.
His words worked my mind up. I thought, instead of waiting for something miraculous to happen, why not bring the change myself?
Science and mathematics have been my forte since I was in primary school. Entering secondary school, my teachers considered me a physics extraordinaire. Putting two and two together, I feel that pursuing a major in civil engineering is the obvious path for me. It would be a perfect marriage between my desires and talents.
Studying civil engineering would grant me the ability I have always desired: the ability to make a change. I would discover the techniques to build people the sanctuaries they deserve; where they can smile, love and laugh with their dearest ones. I would learn about building structural systems; how to make them unyielding and able to withstand whatever disasters mother nature has in store. Finally, a specialization in material science would grant me the ability to benefit from cheaper materials that would still form quality residences. Apart from homes, I would also master the skills necessary to build highways, airports, and best of all, skyscrapers. The skyline that has amazed me before would not be a distant dream anymore.
It would be real.
With ample education, my unquenchable thirst for change would finally be satisfied. A degree in civil engineering will grant me a career in the real estate world, perhaps as a consulting engineer who design projects of urbanization, or as a contractor who implements those designs into viable constructions. Either of these would certainly suffice, as both would grant me the ability to construct homes for everyone who needs them. Indeed, bitter times are inevitable; the path of development is often an arduous one. However, I would persevere, for the sake of making this country to a place where every single citizen has a proper home, a safe haven that they can always refer to no matter how broken they are.
Perhaps one day, I would look back and reminisce my past struggles while thinking that in the end, it was all worth the effort. Only then will the ache for home that had been grasping in my heart for so long will subside.