Response to Breonna's "Statistically Breached"

Breonna, in writing her journey, brought us literally through a journey. We were allowed to know at what time, at what place, and at what circumstances she was performing or partaking in each action/event. I liked how Breonna inserted times for her readers to be more familiar with the happenstance, allowing us to gauge approximately how long each event lasted. When she brought up the fact that she was "statistically breached," I couldn't help but relate with her. Too often, I will plan to go somewhere but look up too much about it prior to actually going. By doing this, I as well as she is never able to fully understand, respect, or learn from that place that we happen to go to. Breonna's style of writing for this particular journey elicited high level representations of desolation, mystery and uncertainty. I like the repetitive inclusion of such representations because they were able to keep me interested in reading about her journey and finding out how it ended.

Response to Tara's "Grandir"

I really like the way that Tara started off her essay. She introduced the plot at the airport, right before boarding a plane. She was able to catch my attention right off the bat when she made it known that she was "anxious and scared" at the airport. I knew what was coming next. I think that Tara wrote this essay really well, with a well thought out structure which progressed from scene to scene, and story to story.
The journey showed a real, clear, and extraordinary transformation from wishing she were never there on the first day to wishing she were no where else by the last day. What I really liked about this journey was that it included the entire dramatic structure:
Exposition - at the airport, not wanting to go
Rising action - she begins to meet people that make her happier
Climax - having the time of her life on the trip
Falling action - trip coming to an end
Resolution - Realization that she is capable of being independent. Hence title "Grandir"

Response to Roni's "Natural Adaptation"

As a basketball player as well as a national basketball association fan, I found Roni's piece to be relaxing to read and reminiscent of my own memories of back when I used to attend NBA games. I remember it all too well, which allowed me to relate with Roni, the author of the piece. When I read about the part in which she was very hesitant to wear Laker colors to the Detroit game, I gave out a little chuckle because I knew exactly what type of feelings she was experiencing at the time. This is because when I was younger, I would drive from New York to New Jersey to watch my favorite teams play against the New Jersey Nets, who at the time were not a very popular NBA team. I felt the same exact way each time, even when I went to watch games at Madison Square Garden.

I found Roni's journey to be quite exciting. I felt that if she had described the ending to that very particular basketball game of which she attended, the essay would have gave out even more energy and excitement for her readers. With the two, very costly missed free throws by Steve Nash, one of the best free throw shooters in history, with only a few seconds on the clock left in the game even I was shocked when I viewed the game on television. The approach that Roni used to connect the feeling of being away from home but, actually, at "home" at the same time, was easily interpretable and smooth. I feel like her essay describing her journey was well-organized, progressive and overall, great!

Reflection on Victor's Daze

I found Victor's piece "Daze" to be extremely interesting to read. Whilst reading his essay, I felt as if I were with him on each of these days. The way in which he expressed himself through the words he used and the inner thoughts he exposed to readers allowed me to feel comfortable and close to him on an audience vs. author level. As an avid, daily MoJo dining hall go-er as well, I was able to relate with Victor in many of his scenarios. Victor was able to enrapture my attention throughout the entire piece because he did not stick to a single topic for lengthy periods of time. What I liked about "Daze" the most was that in just seven pages, he was able to compact a lot of his thoughts clearly and each page of his essay was embellished with a lot of detail, information, and substance. I believe that Victor's journey was original and contrary to the average journey that is so typically summarized by "i went to" and "i came back."