Home: Redefined–Meet Nomad Peggy Jean-Louis

HOME: a concept that commonly refers to one’s place of origin, a place of familiarity and comfort, one that you can call your own.  Each month, we explore the stories of nomads around the world as they share their definitions of what home means to them. Today, we share the story of Peggy Jean-Louis, a Canadian-born, Miami-raised culture seeker whose travels have taken her from Ottawa to London, her home of the past six years.I was 18 years old when I got that inner call to go out and figure my life abroad. I grew up in Miami, Florida with Haitian parents who were big advocates of travel and exploration. The day I brought up the idea of leaving, my dad wasn’t so keen, I'm a daddy’s girl, but my mom came home the next day with a one-way ticket to Ottawa, Canada departing in two week's time. Although I was born in Canada, I spent my formative years in America so I had a burning curiosity to see what the country was about. Luckily my mother understood, she too left her home in Port-Au-Prince decades before to study in Montreal and never looked back. So on December 4, 1995, I began my self-discovery journey to Ottawa, sans map, where I would stay with my godmother and eventually enroll at the University of Ottawa. Little did I know that once I started on this travel train, I would never get off. The years that followed found me on a journey from Vancouver to London, back to Vancouver then New York City where I lived for five years. When I'd had enough of the Big Apple life, I decided to head back to London where I live currently. At age 36, I’m a compilation of all of the cities I lived in and a bucket full of others I've visited along the way.Joseph Campbell said it best, “Our life evokes our character. You find out more about yourself as you go on. That is why it's good to put yourself in situations that will evoke your higher nature rather than your lower.” I define home as a peace of mind, body and spirit where I can have the freedom to nurture my unconventional curiosities and my greatest potential as a human being. I’ve got more character in me to discover, so there is no final destination planned. I’ll go wherever the divine pavements lead me. Read more about Peggy's journey and more at Peggyjeanlouis.com.We’d love for you to be a part of the conversation! Are you a nomad who has created your own definition of “home”? We would like to hear from you. Email us at travel@parlourmagazine.com and share your story.