Step 1...

After today's in class project, I became much more aware of the importance of thorough, detailed instructions. I found trying creating these step by step instructions from a universal perspective was far more difficult than actually constructing our animal or trying to build an animal using another's directions. It's always funny seeing other people's interpretations of another's directions and how people read into things differently. Overall, it was a fun way to demonstrate the importance of creating good, detailed but simple directions.

"Mother Tongue"

Tan was attempting to provide outsiders (specifically English speaking people) with an insider’s perspective on non-English speaking people. Throughout her story, she takes a close look at how those who may speak broken English or no English are constantly falling into inaccurate stereotypes. From an insider’s perspective, the reader is able to see the effects of these labels first hand, such as the way Tan was treated in school by her teachers and peers. The title Mother Tongue is very fitting for this story. Mother Tongue refers to two things that play an important role in Tan’s life. The first being the importance of her mother and how her mother could not speak English fluently. The second meaning could be in reference to her first language (her natural “tongue”) and how her ethnicity places a role in her life. The story looks more at the culture Tan was raised in and how it has affected her current day life.

There are no limits to an imaginative mind

One of my fondest memories was when my sister and I were young, we would play for hours in the woods in my backyard. We would come up with the most elaborate stories and characters. The possibilities for who we could become or where we could be were limitless. The backyard was our own personal world and we were the storytellers in this universe.