What defines being homesick?

Lately I have been feeling emotional about being away from home. I just was wondering what being homesick really means and I want to explain my thoughts on the subject to you all.

When I think of the word homesick, I interpret that as missing the place where you come from and the people that mean the most to you. Maybe I don't feel like I would define me being away from my home and missing my family as homesickness because it's not something I cannot deal with. Homesickness is the unbearable longing to be home with family and in a place that is familiar so much that it affects the way you build relationships and the amount of work you get done while you are away from said home. Yes, I miss my family each and every day, but the reality is I need to grow up and find myself without them to truly be able to appreciate them and thrive on my own and have my own life. Being independent, even if for a short amount of time is important in my personal opinion in building character and a sense of the world around you.

Many people stay close to home to save money and be close to their family because they need that familiarity to keep going in their lives and I completely understand that. Lots of people leave home and realize they cannot handle losing that physical closeness with the people they love and they slowly go back. I know I will always want to be close to my family, but for me it's not about physically being with the, it's about having a lasting connection so that no matter where I end up, they're always there with me.

I got a little off topic but that's alright. Homesickness is natural and most people experience it in a different way. I am homesick and I miss home and my family but I'd rather be here finding myself on my own terms and making my own struggles and learning my own lessons instead of having to be caught every time I make a mistake.

I want to fall. I want to fly.

I want to be myself.