"Preconceptions vs. Reality": A Response to Steven's Essay

I chose this famous art piece, the Mona Lisa, to represent Steven’s article. The Mona Lisa is not the most gorgeous picture, and it is actually very small and underwhelming when you see it. But because it is so hyped up and everyone knows how famous it is, they feel it is amazing. I think this relates to Steven’s essay but slightly in the opposite. The north part of campus is known to be the worst thing EVER. And sometimes people may confuse whether it is actually bad or they believe it is bad solely because everyone says it is. Steven touched upon this point in his essay where he says, “Everything about North before proved true. I wonder, is that because I have heard it all before or because it is true?” I think this can be a strong point to make and can be used more throughout the essay when talking about his preconceptions versus reality. 

"Isolation": A response to Victoria's essay

This image reminded me of Victoria’s essay. Although she was willing to take a chance and step outside her comfort zone, it seems as though she distanced herself from the true challenge she was facing: making new friends. Without giving her roommates a chance, she tries to leave them and find a single where no socializing would occur. For much of the trip she isolates herself from making friends because for her, that was the largest challenge. I consider her to be the red apple, not trying to blend or connect with any of the green apples that surround her. I think she can take this idea even further and maybe relate it back to an occurrence of why she feared socializing and meeting new people.  

"Misconceptions": A Response to Breonna's essay

If I told you, before you looked at the picture above, that it was of a young girl that might affect what you see. In reality, it is an illusion. You can both look at it and see a young woman or an old lady. What you are told to see and therefore expect to see might affect what you actually see. I feel as though this is very similar to Breonna’s story. Before ever arriving at Hope Village, she had read about statistics and had expectations of what it would be like: poor and dirty with little educational resources. And that then lead to her expecting the little boy to be someone he wasn’t. I thought that ending was great. I think this idea can be incorporated more throughout the story. Also, it might be interesting to incorporate her friend’s reaction because her friend did not have any preconceptions. 

"Together as One": A response to Victor's Essay

After reading Victor’s essay, I found it reminded me of a scrapbook page. Where a scrapbook has multiple pictures and stories and important memories, Victor’s story had a bunch of experiences at mojo. Though the thing with a scrapbook page is that in the end, all of the pages are put together to create the final product. It isn’t until the scrapbook is complete that you can understand the full meaning of it. I feel this is similar to Victor’s piece. Each day he writes about mojo, he has something valuable to add, and each experience is important. But I feel as though he could bring each experience together in the end to show his ultimate discovery about the dining hall. 

"Unmasking Identity": A response to Ronnie's essay

After reading Ronnie’s essay, I thought of the song “I Don’t Wanna Be” by Gavin Degraw. This song talks about how Gavin doesn’t want to be someone he isn’t. He says, “I'm tired of looking 'round rooms wondering what I've got to do or who I'm supposed to be. I don't want to be anything other than me.” Ronnie’s story touches upon the idea of hiding your own identity. She didn’t want to wear Laker apparel to the game in fear of being the “odd-ball-out” or booed at. I think this is a big idea to touch upon and could even be extracted more throughout the story. She could potentially talk about how maybe she wishes she would have stayed true to herself and worn Laker apparel even if it meant she would be different; she would wear Laker apparel just to support her team and where she comes from. She could greater emphasize the importance of staying true to yourself no matter what other people want from you.