Don’t let the gif above fool you; this particular Music Monday song, Home Sweet Home by Motley Crue, is actually pretty sweet and a departure from the image of sex and drugs that one associates with hair metal of the 80s. It also comes at a critical moment in the book, The Mixtape to My Life, one that forces Justin to decide where exactly he considers home to be.
What makes a home?
If you listen to the lyrics, you’ll hear someone who is anxious to get back to the one they love after being on the road for so long. They want to be home. It’s a safe place, one that allows them to breath. That’s what home is to a lot of people. It’s a comfort, one where you are supposed to hang your hat up and let your troubles melt away. But it’s not like that for everyone.
The reality for some LGBTQ+ youth
The fact is home isn’t always safe. Writing from a perspective of a young LGBTQ teen, I had to imagine what it would be like if he felt like they couldn’t go home. What would happen if they came out? Would they be thrown on the street? Or even worse. We’ve all read the stories and know that home in the traditional sense isn’t always the best place to be. So that is when you have to wonder where your home would actually be.
If you want to check out the song, click on the video below or go to the Spotify icon at the bottom of the page. There you can also see the other songs that inspired The Mixtape to My Life.
Where do you consider home to be?
Jake Martinez - Author 