Throughout the semester, we have explored different ideas of what a home/homeland is. I can honestly say that I have never taken a class, in my three years here, that has affected me this much, outside of the classroom. Like much of the characters in the novels we have read, though not as drastic, I've allowed my self to go on this journey in the past three months and I'm starting to feel/see the effects, as well as other people around me. It sounds soooo dramatic, however, this class has allowed me to realize that it's perfectly okay to go against that time line that society, and in part, my family, has created for me. That is the most surprising thing for me, because my entire life has consisted of me being somewhat of a people pleaser. I also loved how everyone was allowed to grow at their own pace. There were people who, at the beginning of the semester completely dove into the texts/discussions while others took their time to get where thy want to be.
The story of Jyoti/Jasmine/Jase/Jane serves as a very fitting novel for one of our last reads. It encompasses all of the answers to questions that we have come with. The biggest one, to me, being if you can take your homeland with you, and still be true to it while away from. Despite the fact that she left her homeland, she didn't seem to lose herself when she seemed to settle down in various places. When I first started reading it, I thought that by her changing her name, she was in fact, leaving her past behind. However, when I realized that half the time it wasn't her changing her name, it was other people changing it for her. So, technical that change was just on an external level, while the internal ws, yes, most likely influenced by the name change but not completely warped.
We are the only ones who can decide what is home for us. Along with that, we are the ones who have the power to shape it, take it with us, leave it, do whatever we see fit with it.