Abondoning the old or simply gaining a new identity?

To step outside of your comfort zone, move to another country, and to call it home seems like it would be a very difficult experience.  To fully take it in and to fully embrace the culture seems like a very difficult task.  In doing so I would not perceive one as abandoning their old identity as much as trying to gain an exciting, new identity.  We all have or will, at one point in our lives I am sure, want to change our identity in some way. 

There are many stages in life and we all transition from one person to a different person as years pass.  I know right now I am a typical American "college girl" but after graduation in May I may want to be perceived as something else.  Hopefully when I move to a big city, whether it is in California, somewhere on the other side of the United States or even in another country, I will hope to gain a new identity.  I hope to gain a new identity not in order to abandoned my old one but in order to grow and to gain knowledge and experience in a new identity.  I think it is a natural part of everyone's life to change identities from time to time.

In Jasmine by Bharati Mukhurjee, she says "I think of Vilma, a girl I envied because she lived in a 2 story brick house with windows." P. 15   Here, it shows from the very beginning Jasmine wants a life and identity other than her own.  However, she may take this concept to the extreme in changing her name, forgetting or "abandoning" her old identity, and buying into the American "cliche".   It is one thing to move from one phase to another in life and to take on a new identity as you live in a new place, meet new people, and try new things or live a different way, but to forget about who you were before or what brought you to be what you are today could be considered wrong to some. 

I do not yet know Jasmine's character enough yet to judge where she is coming from and what her hopes are in taking on a new identity so therefore I think it is too early to determine whether she is buying into the American "cliche" or re-inventing herself in a more positive light in order to gain a new and exciting identity.  As I read further along I hope to discover exactly what her motives are and get to the bottom of whether or not she is abandoning her old identity or not.