One scene that you relate to personally

“I hate my name,” she said. “Well, okay, so then I guess what you gotta do is dye your hair blond.”

“You know, everybody who is Mexican is named Maria, like my mom.” (100)

I can relate to this scene where she is talking about her name and how it relates to her race in some ways. I personally do not have a distinct “white” name but when my parents were trying to name me my mom wanted to name me Janessa. Which I think is an absolutely beautiful name but my dad said that that was not a name for a white girl. It sounded more like a black girl’s name. I think it is interesting how a name can describe a person so much and just all the different perspectives people have on names. A name is not a huge deal; it does not describe you or make who you are in most cases, it can defiantly give you different experiences, but I feel like putting a race on a name is kind of silly. Although yes there are typical “white names” “black names” “Mexican names” I feel like a name should be something you are proud of.  I would have loved to be named Janessa and actually if I have a daughter I want to name her Janessa, regardless if my dad still thinks it is a “black name,” but I still love my name Monica.
        The author included this scene within the book in order to give the reader a background of just how Nica feels about her race. She feels like her name is too Mexican and she would love to have a more Americanized name. Nica does not feel comfortable in the United States and the reader can see from this scene that she is ashamed of her background and I predict that will lead to changes as the book goes on. My perspective of this reminds me how names do not really spark much of a background to me, I mean a lot of names of meanings but they should not define how you see yourself. Where in the book the author is showing the author that Nica feels like if she had a more American name then she would fit in better and just how much she feels like her race affects her.

My Mom Never...

My mom never went anywhere without her camera. When I was growing up we would go everywhere, Disneyland, Yosemite, Sea World and every place whether it be Hawaii or our kitchen my mom would always have her camera with her. It was really important possesion of hers to carry around because my mom treasured every moment she spent with everyone. My mom loved to scrapbook and her scrapbooks were beautiful. It was amazing how she could take a simple roll of film and leave you in awe after flipping only the beginning pages to her wonderful books. We always use to joke and make fun of my mom and give her a hard time when she took pictures and she would say countless times, “One day you will thank me for this.” My mom was really ill and while she was really ill she worked hard on her scrapbooks, until one day she passed away. Now, I look at the shelves in my living room and see fifteen beautiful scrapbooks with thousands of pictures taken by my mom’s camera that she never went anywhere without and now I say thank you.

Predict what will happen to Sonny in the book.

I predict that Sonny will continue to dislike the living arrangements with his mom and Cloyd, but I think he will become infatuated with the apartment complex and the people inside. I think in the beginning of the story when Sonny shared how he like to just go into people’s houses just to see how they lived and feel how it is to be them. That showed the reader that one quality of Sonny is curiosity. I think his curiosity will lead him to learning more about the people in the apartment complex. He already has had  a few encounters with the people there and I predict the encounters with the neighbors are going to come more often now that he is doing more work around the premises for Cloyd. I think he is going to try and pursue the girl that he thinks he is so beautiful. I have a feeling that this girl is going to have a big impact in his life, whether it be good or bad, but i think this girl is going to become a major character in Sonny's life.

I am..

I am a spontaneously, creative, outgoing girl who is not quite sure what I want to accomplish in life. I enjoy science and most likely will continue my education into the medical field. I am going to Gavilan College to do my general education and to obtain a minor in spanish. I enjoy playing volleyball and other sports and outdoor activities. I have a wonderful dad and an amazing brother that I live with currently. Unfortunatly I lost my mom to breast cancer when I was eleven so it has played a huge role in my life growing up. Reading and writing have been a big part of my life. I think reading is interesting because it opens your eyes to other peoples views and I enjoy learning new cultures and seeing other peoples opinions on topics.