Hometown

Yao Yujie

How deep is the meaning of one short word — homeland. And for each person this word contains something different， personal， special and something in common more significant. Thinking about homeland， we will think about the great， beautiful country where we were born， linking the concept of the Motherland with complex and interesting， rich and sometimes tragic history of his native land. We feel pride because we are part of this country and this great world. The love for the Motherland， we instill from childhood — parents， caregivers and teachers teach us.

The stories about the major events， outstanding personalities， about their exploits and great deeds transmits from generation to generation . Therefore， thinking about homeland， we think about the heroes of the past and present， and about the famous writers， poets， musicians， artists. All of above mentioned is our history and our homeland.

People who surround us in everyday life are also –Our Motherland. People who were born in the same edge， always close to each other， always will be better able to understand each other， it is easier to find common language and become friends. Because， perhaps， they have one thing in common — the country in which they were born， and thats a lot！Is it because the people in another country are so genuinely happy to meet a fellow — anyone let further quite a stranger from his native country， hometown， home. But each of us has his home area — their own little home. This is the city， town or village， the street and the house where we were born， where took his first steps， spoke his first word， learned the first joys and the first offense. Maybe becoming older， we will be able to fully evaluate， understand， that we love our great Motherland， our country. Although in heart， of course， each of us already had a genuine love of his country. But I think that now is much closer to us， more and more clear that our Motherland — home of our parents， grandparents. Thinking about home， we think about early childhood. And in these moments I remember my mothers hands， which helped me to firmly stand on their feet； familiar and unique smell of grandmas pies just taken out of the stove； lullabies and mysterious and interesting childrens stories. I remember the little playful kitten in our yard， which I happily played. A gentle， warm feeling awake in my heart， when I look at the trees， which in childhood we planted with parents near the house.

From an early age parents instill in me a love for mother nature. And now Ill never pluck a delicate flower， not spook chirping on a branch birds. I want to preserve all this beauty， because in my power to help my Motherland. Its hard to tell what kind of country is more valuable for person — small or large. It seems to me that a great and small homeland， are equally important and haunt. Moreover， it is an indivisible entire. The whole world around us — the whole homeland.

Homeland is very capacious content in its concept. It is embedded very deep and multifaceted meaning. And first， from where the Motherland begins for each person is his family， that is the most expensive and loved place. Then this concept is expanded in entire world， and one sees in homeland in the first place is the nature of their region. In the end， our homeland was created by nature and ancestors. And that nature is dotted with all its landscapes and natural beauty.

Each of us have favorite places that we like since childhood， and with whom the person has its memories and associations. But what could be better than those memories that have survived in humans？ Especially pleasant memories which associated with childhood.

So first and foremost the homeland – those native paths which people walked， the familiar nooks and crannies， alleys， houses， parks， lakes and everything else， after all its associations and memories. With all of these begins the love for the Motherland – from their homes， which are close to everyone. Because the homeland itself， inseparable from nature and its beauty.

Next is the reverence which we have to our ancestors， who lived and worked on this earth， ennobling their work and defending on the battlefield. And everyone should remember that homeland and his home region will always help him to gain physical and spiritual strength， whatever hardships he had in life. And erroneous is the identification of the homeland with the economic welfare of the state or regime in which we live. The concept of “homeland” is a much more sacred and spiritual concept. And this intention lives in the soul of each person.

Each of us carries within him the love for the Motherland in two intentions. There homeland is a big country， there are the tens of languages， from which we know only one， there are thousands of cities， most of which we were not， hundreds of rivers in which we swam， and even a lot of seas that we have not seen.

For the sake of prosperity of the Motherland， we work， for her sake endure hardships and willing to die defending its borders. The Homeland we love conscious love and consciously inspire our children a love for her.

But each of us has also another homeland that no one teach us to love. And no need to teach. We love her， and unconscious love. This homeland is a small point on the map， the place where I was born I spent my childhood. Objectively speaking， no worse and no better than thousands of other places， but for me — unique， special and irreplaceable is homeland. The image of this country， its smells， its sounds people remember to the grave， even if he was a child and never returned. But back pulls the whole life. Away from it involves. Person should be happy even to hear the name of his homeland on the radio. There is no remarkable feeling like hearing a native speaker or accent among the crowd . And if person should talk with his countryman， will begin to ask each other， to remember their homes —at that moment person should do everything for his countryman. For outsiders we are just a simple person， we can not tell them an touchable stories about our homeland. Only poets have the ability to flash their love for their homeland on poems.

A question that want to ask everybody：is the love of country is an instinct？It etymologists answer resounding Yes. As it was clarified in experiments on migratory birds. Took of birds at different ages is not yet hatched， newly hatched Chicks， fledglings leaving the nest， young living with parents， young and slightly older adults， and transported from the place where was their parental nest to another. In new location of the experimental birds was delayed until the beginning of the autumn migration to wintering， hitched and released. And spring waited to both. It turned out that， to fly to wintering adult birds returning “home” （ie， whence they were taken）. The behavior of young depended on age at the beginning of the experience. If they were transported at a certain critical age， they returned to “the native land” （i.e. from whence they were taken）. If you do not have reached this milestone， they return to where they were released. So， birds have attachment to a particular place on earth is formed in childhood， at some critical age. Where they are at this age will be there and will be their homeland， which they will return to life. Capturing any images （in our case， area） of the brain in childhood and throughout his life the etymologists called imprinting — imprint in the emerging brain. Note that instinctive homeland — not necessarily place of birth， this is the place where passed the sensitive period of childhood. Now， the imprinting of the homeland have been studied in many animals — fish， turtles， birds， and mammals. Apparently， the same mechanism works in children around the age of two and below the age of twelve years.

Grudging respect have for migratory birds because of their instinctive attachment to their homeland， the grove， the lake， the rock that they are flying thousands of kilometers， using for this the wonders of orientation. Even if the scientists imported their way out to the side. This pursuit is clear. I was wondered when I read that birds will not fly too far because of their homeland . Because if people had such ability they probably will go anywhere because of passion of traveling.

【作者簡介】Yao Yujie， Class 1516 of No. 1 Middle School in Dingcheng District Changde City.