"Ellie"

Another great narrative that brings back so many memories. I remember being little and not completely being able to grasp the idea of loss and death. Naturally, then, when my grandmother that was very close to me passed away, I didn't really know how to react. I knew I was sad because I was old enough to understand that she would not be comming back and that I would never see her again. One thing I never will forget is how I reacted and what I told my mom the day that she passed away.
I knew she had passed because my mom did not go to work that day and when she dropped me and my brother off at school she was very upset. I later found out she hadn't died yet but they figured that would probably be her last day. When I got picked up from school my mom was very quiet and distant. I remember saying in the cash out line of the grocery store on the way home, "Meme died today didn't she". My mom ignored me and it wasn't until we got home that she broke down and said that Meme was no longer with us.
What intrigued me the most about this narrative was Ellie's reaction to the death of the elderly woman because it was very simialr to my own. I remember saying to my mom after hearing the news, "Well, she's in a better place now" which for me meant heaven because I could not picture my Meme being anywhere else. I realized that day, much like Ellie did, that the people we love won't be here forever and anything could happen when you least expect it and you may never get the chance to see them ever again. It's amazing how two people from two completely different places and that don't know each other could have an experience such as this one so similar.

"Justin"

While reading this narrative I could not help but to think about a similar incident that happened in my small town. A girl, actually a friend of mine, committed suicide this October. She was only sixteen years old and we have never had a death of a teen by suicide in our town before. It definatly shook the whole town up, including people that didn't even know Jasmine that well. This brought all of the people together because we all wanted to help each other through this rough time and be able to share our stories of the good memories.
The way that this story talks about the people comming together in the yard to mourn the loss of a loved one and friend brought me back to a few months ago when I first got the call that my friend was dead. I so badly wanted to be home but couldn't being three hours away from home and living on campus without a car. This story shows how one horrible accident can quickly bring a bunch of strangers together very rapildy for the same purpose and how human we all are.

"Panda"

This has to be one of the funniest things I have read in a while, I think this is my favorite story. When most people looked at the assignment they chose some very sad tale from the past but this was meant to be much more light hearted and silly. I think just about everyone can relate to this and has probably had a very similar experience in their childhood. I was a little confused when the story jumped from a silly narrative about a young boy wetting himself to the narrators fear of hights, but after rereading it it made a little more sense to me. It was interesting to see the moment when this person first realized their fear of hights, but i wonder if maybe there was a better example of this later on in the person's life.

"Grown-Up Youngster"

I found this story of how someone first dealt with finding out that they have diabetes to be incredibly moving. I had a friend in highschool who ended up going through a very similar experiance that ended his dream of joining the marines after our senior year ended. I had always wondered how he must have fealt but it's not really something you just go up to someone and ask. Your story is both very tragic and yet at the same time is written in a way that it is very uplifting. You seem almost proud of the fact that you have gone through this and used it as a way to better yourself where as some people might just feel sorry for themselves .I can't imagine what it must be like to have to deal with this kind of disease every day of your life.

Cosmopolitan

This author's experience is something very unique that is nearly unheard of in my area.  Living so close to upper class and poverty must have made for a very unique upbringing that allowed for much appreciation and learning to be open minded, as stated.  When raised in an area isolated from a wide range of socioeconomic statuses one loses touch with how well off or not so well off they are in life.  From this, people probably make assumptions which rarely ever lead to accurate gauges of people's situations and less appreciation than what this author experienced.

Struggle

This author's writing is a great peace about transformation, from the context to the structure of the the short prompt.  Transitioning from an isolated culture in the United States to a diverse high school must have been difficult in ways I cannot imagine.  Coming from a hometown and college town that is heavily caucasian drove me to learn more about diversity.  My transition to high school was not that difficult.  Just like my middle school the diversity was low.  When I entered my college I was interested in learning more and sought out organizations such as the MLK Jr Task-force.  Its almost as if we had the opposite experience.

-Ellie- -American Mutt-

Overcoming someone’s passing is always something hard to do, and is always something that ends up changing something inside of you.  It is a sad an inevitable fact that we will all pass away.  Everyone has their different ways in how to deal with those who are gone.  There was a brief period after my father’s mother died where I still couldn’t fully comprehend that she was gone.  I didn’t see her a whole lot because I lived with my mother, but I did have a number of happy memories about her and playing at her house.  After knowing someone who has passed it does change your view on the world.  I appreciate my family a whole lot more, but at the same time I am nervous for the next time that I hear who is the next one to leave.

Living in America we’re in a land that will eventually filled by mutts.  A number years back I was teased for being a mutt and I clearly remember being confused.  Sure some of them were full-bloods from some country while others’ great-great-somethings were colonists, but isn’t America known as a melting pot?  That’s all beside the point… those classes in school where you learned about other cultures were always so interesting to me and they still are.  Sometimes I feel a bit nosy wanting to know everything about a culture and the lifestyle surrounding it, but I don’t ever feel like my want to learn will fade any time soon. (I guess its just the kid in me).

Identity Narrative on Helper and A new Experience

 Identity Narrative: Helper

I love your identity narrative paper because it is really meaningful. The title really matches the whole point of your paper. The part where you and your friend decided to volunteer at the hospital is a great idea because I can tell you really want to work towards the field of nursing. Your paper is wonderful but maybe elaborating a little more on why you want to work with patients and how it influences your identity can help some readers understand more about your awesome idea on your paper. I had the exact experience as you. On my junior year of high school, I decided to look for a job because it is almost summer. However, I could not get a job because many stores were not hiring, so I decided to volunteer at Kaiser.  I remember I had to go through the same process you did like filling out forms, taking our shots, getting recommendations, and going to the meeting. This was a super long process and after that, they said they would call us to see if we got in. Apparently they randomly choose people to get in and I was not one of those lucky ones.

Identity Narrative: A new Experience

The identity narrative paper you wrote was really touching and great. The paper you wrote literally made me cry. I love how you talked about your whole experience in china, from the plane ride all the way to the point where you reached China. I realized that you mentioned how you learned to be more appreciative on the things you have now, and I was so amazed by this because for my paper I put that as how it influenced my identity. In the paper, you mentioned about how you appreciate what you have now, does it mean you never appreciate what you had before? Why? I can really relate to your paper because I had the same feeling when I went to China last summer. I saw many beggars on the street and I felt bad because I was going out to eat with my family while they had to stay in the hot weather with nothing to eat or drink. I asked my dad and mom for money because I want to give it to the beggars but my parents said that it is not safe to take out your wallets in the streets where it is crowded.  I wish I could of gave them money because I really want to help them.

                                                                                                               - Robyn 

               

" Anita Claire"

When i came to the U.S, our family stayed at a small apartment complex where there were three other Vietnamese families. We were closed as family because there were not many Vietnamese around the area. One of the families had a sixteen year old daughter who I looked up as a sister. She spent long hours at my house hanging out and helping me with my homework. I remember she had a boyfriend who came to her place a couple time when her parents were home. I remember when i asked her about him, she denied it. However, one day she told me her family was moving to another State ( i don't remember), and she didn't tell me why. When i entered high school, i found out from my mom the reason why her family had to move so quickly was because she was pregnant. My mom told me her story because she did not want the same thing happen to me. She told me that her family did not accept her boyfriend and couldn't deal with people knowing about their unmarried and pregnant daughter. In Asian culture, being pregnant before marriage is a shame to the family. Her family could not deal with the shame she had brought so they moved to another place where they wouldn't be judged by other Asian, especially Vietnamese. I think her family must have said lots of negative things to her that made her even felt ashamed of herself because I had not hear anything from her after her family moved away. No letters nor phone calls from her. Being a female is hard already, but being a female in an Asian family is even harder.

Kristy

"Ellie"

Responding to Identity Narratives - "Ellie"
               I felt more related to your writing because i was going through the same thing on last Saturday when my family got a bad news of my grandfather's death. A couple years ago, he had a major stroke which caused him speech and physical impairment. However he was till able to recognize the people in his family. Our family communicated with him through Skype, although he wasn't able to talk yet his smiles assured of his present and healthy. The news came as a surprise for us, especial to my mom because she was just looking at him during Chinese New Years through Skype. He had a big smile looking at our family through the screen. My mom wanted to flight back as fast as she could, yet she wasn't able to do. She was able to fly back on Wednesday night and be with my grandma for the next two weeks. Before his death, i was planning to go back there to visit him after my Spring graduation. The lost of loved ones are hardest to deal with, one day they still smile at you, and they're gone the next day.

Kristy

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