I wasn’t sure how to tackle the summary of peoples’ blogs on the theme of home, so I took inspiration from Ari on how she gathered bullet points and then commented! This seems to be the most logical way, so here goes! I’ve also decided to include one important line that resonated with me from each story.
1. Emilia Brandoli
• Family history
• Comparisons of different regions experienced by herself and family
• Uprooted but always having roots
• “My relationship to home is in my relations.”
2. Grace Owens
• Home in a literal and figurative sense
• Family being a major part of home
• Home as a formative tool in forming oneself
• “Home is the place where I became who I am today.”
3. Arianne Robbins
• Home is made up of many small things
• Home is a feeling
• Personal stories of love and loss with loved ones
• “It is a warm hug after a long day, the safety of being held.”
4. Sarah Afful
• Fictional story approach
• Outgrowing one’s home and searching for more
• Home being not a place itself, but her mother
• “If mamma bird left for the arctic, home would be in the arctic.”
5. Nargiza Ailmova
• Family story focus
• Family is the central theme
• Home is within the family rituals
• “it’s the mundane and relaxing times when we’re all together that I value the most.”
6. Brenda Druhall
• Living away from home
• Missing home
• Remembering home but starting to feel at home somewhere new
• “I realize… I’m starting to feel at home.”
Comments
First of all, let me see that I loved these stories! I love how everyone took a different approach, some people tackling it in a creative non-fiction sense while others used metaphor or completely fabricated stories (presumably inspired by lived experiences.)
I think the most notable theme of all of these stories if the idea of family. Emilia, Grace, Sarah, and Nargiza all outright spoke about how family was a consistent connection to home. Arianne took a more abstract approach by describing feelings as home, however, these feelings are often associated with family and friends! Brenda is an interesting one because it speaks about missing home and finding home within a new place. While this may not connect directly to family, it kind of echoes finding a newfound family and home with that family with the people you are experiencing life with daily! That is what I took away from it, at least.
Overall, really impressed with the work of my classmates and touched by their words about home and family.
