rahh We the North* styll**

*Raptors slogan
**Because Milkman explores the different places he came from, the title is a sort of homage to my Canadian family. The adults in my Pakistani-Canadian family do not talk even remotely like this, I just love Toronto slang (which is influenced by Jamaican English because of the prominence of Jamaican immigrants in the Greater Toronto Area or GTA). Also probably didn't use it right

Drake embracing Nav

      In the latter chapters of Song of Solomon,  Milkman goes on an extensive journey where he essentially covers the map of his family heritage in America. Reading these chapters really intrigued me because Milkman did not just cover a couple of states, he covered a region, city, and then street within that area which is amazingly specific and it's an interesting thing to add to a novel because most readers cannot relate to those places and have never heard of them. 

     Because of my own sort of family "map", I associate a lot with some specific places in Canada. To start off, both my mom and dad's side of the family moved from Pakistan to Canada. My mom and her family came as refugees and lived in Brampton when she was 15. Brampton is a well-known neighborhood of the GTA where many South Asians migrate to, like rapper Nav who is pictured above. Tbh, I don't know the first place my dad was but I know his family used the sponsor method where one family member would come to Canada and work until they could sponsor more to come. 

      Fast-forward to my own childhood, My Nani (mom's mom) lived in Vaughan (where Canada's Wonderland is) with my Uncle and his family, I would visit here periodically and now my cousins are some of my best friends, in fact, our dynamic has come somewhat full circle because now that they are back in Toronto from Dubai for Uni* and live with my Nani again, so I can visit them the way I used to.
*(Canadiens refuse to call University "College" because it ruins the superiority structure of the two)

Some park in Lonon, England August 2019
Pictured: Filza Lone (20), Me (16), Haanya Lone (18)  

 My dad's side of the family is huge because in Pakistan they were living that farm life like Macon and my grandparents had 9 children, so I can't really name all of the places they stayed except for my grandparents in Windsor (right next to Detroit border). I consider Windsor very close because I go there some weekends and can navigate it very well. (literally its 35 minutes away if ur brother is cool like mine and speeds(send help)).

This has probably been too long but its also my perspective and reasoning of why I am Canadian and how it is in many ways, "where I'm from". This blend of areas is something I recognize better than most areas in America even though I was born and raised in Michigan.