Samuel Michel

Response to the reading:

“To write about yourself and the people in your life is to accept that, in part, you a bastard. You must face and come to understand your own demons”

   I understand this quote but I know how it feels to lose or almost lose someone very close to you. It a very heavy thing to hold in your heart. Hold something like that can also bring out the bad in you also just because of a hatred to someone. You yourself start thinking about hurtful things or what would you do if you were in that situation. I think in a way, her writing about this will help her face reality a little. As for she can’t change what happened to her nephew and he’s going to be paralyzed for the rest of his life. The person that did that to him, even if you were to get revenge it wouldn’t matter because her nephew will still be the way he is now. So in a way this is a way to get it off her chest and to finally be at peace in her heart and mind.

“I come from a culture where girls are supposed to speak softly and walk on the balls of their feet, rolling off their toes as if flying…”

    I understood this quote very well because I guess where she grew up, she was told the girls were suppose to dress or act a specific way because it is in her culture. She probably felt that that style or way of living isn’t for her because she wasn’t comfortable with that. It just wasn’t for her or she felt like she was being focus to dress that way and didn’t like it. She realizes she was more comfortable in the opposite style where she didn’t have to pretend to be something she’s not.

“Nonetheless, journalists have been telling our stories for a long time, and the people actually living those lives need to step into the role of storyteller…”

She’s saying that what better person to write the story then the person the live the story. They can write their story better then anyone else can because they seen things first hand and literally experience the war or has some kind of part in it. If everyone wrote a story about their journey thru life or their life story, it would be amazing what people have seen or experience in their younger days. The story that she wrote about her sister is nothing compared to what her sister seen first hand or felt at those moments.  During that time was all about survival in the Southeast Asian war so they both seen a lot of things kids aren’t suppose to. Things that never left their minds and also made them who they are today.  It must have had a very detailed  story behind it about that what I think this quote is about.

Samuel Michel

Telling the story, telling the truth

1.     1. "In my writing, I purposefully blend information, observation, analysis, and my own reactions to the material.”

I like this quote because it best describes how there are many different ways of writing. You can use all that you have to make an amazing essay or to show people your point of view to get your point across to the viewers. The information can show the facts to backs up your idea and also the observation backs up the information that you state with in your writing.

        2. “By being extremely specific in what I report, I don’t just bring readers into a world of exotica and the grotesque, but into a world where human beings survive with dignity.”

I also like this quote because it is showing what every writer should try to do which is to bring the reader into his or her world. Have them step into their shoes so they can understand what it is like to feel they way they feel in a sense. Bringing a reader to step in your shoes is the best way of losing the reader in your writing and bring more of a crowd.

           3.“I write in the first person a lot. The “I” in my stories is the reader’s proxy. My great ambition is to take readers out of their comfort zones and put them in positions of discomfort.”

I like writing in first person cause it gives the readers a chance to believe that they’re in it themselves. They can place themselves in that position and can feel what they can feel also.

Samuel Michel

Mission statement:

Intro

For my introduction I will be talking about how Simone was at the age of 7. How he was, what type of kid was he. What were his goals at that age…

Body 1

For the second part of my essay I will talk about the change that I seen from 7-21 both negative and position. How things changed during he journey through life and to college. What knowledge he gained from that, what remained the same about him both negative and position.

Body 2

For the three part of my essay I will talk about when he reached the age of 28. I will mention his family and the six kids he has. I will talk about the job he has and why he likes working at a meat place. How does it suit him as a individual.

Closing statement

For the end part of my essay I will speak about how I disagree and also agree with the film. “Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you a man”. How it has both a positive and 
negative effort on their lives. The benefits and faults for taking part of this film. 

Samuel Michel

Response to Looking Around by Lamott Anne:

1.    “If you look at people and just see sloppy clothes or rich clothes, you’re going to get them wrong”

I like this quote because it explains the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover”. The clothing on a person should explain to you how they are as a person because the person can be dressing on their mood. Or they can be going to a interview and are trying impress someone.

2.    “I honestly think in order to be a writer, you have to learn to be reverent. If not, why are you writing? Why are you here?”

I don’t believe this quote because sometimes you have to break the rules in order to get your point across some times. You can’t always be reverent because you sometimes write for the public and the public likes honesty.

3.    “Sometimes you run into someone, regardless of age or sex, whom you know absolutely to be an independently operating part of the Whole that goes on all the time inside yourself, and the eye-motes go click and you hear the tribal tones of voice resonate, and there it is--- you recognize them.”

I like this quote because it is a fact. There’s a person for everyone where you can’t help but change for the better or sometimes the worst. I believe that there’s another half to everyone because we don’t feel complete til we encounter that other person. When do encounter them is when I believe the inner us comes out.