When I first started reading The Middle of Everywhere. I was unsure as to how I would respond to the stories that I was reading. After reading a few chapters I started to realize that I could relate to these people, albeit not because I had the same experiences but because I had gone through experiences in my own life that if magnified many times over, I thought would seem similar to their own.
When I reached the midway point in the book, I was relatively sure that I could relate somewhat with the people from Mary Pipher's stories. Yet there was this feeling that I wasn't understanding what Pipher what trying to get across. I felt like I was still in some regards this underprivileged young adult.
When I started to get towards the end, Pipher started to talk more about the characteristics that she felt immigrants needed to have to succeed in America. It was at that time that I really began to understand just how bless I am to have been born in the United States of America. I read through the list and there were a number of characteristics that I felt that I had, but there were so many that I was unsure of. I finished the book with a sense of disappointment in those who lead this country, the people who live in it, and most of all myself.
As with most things I tried to relate the book back the thing that I understand the best, baseball. I immediately saw the connection that Pipher's friend Pam was trying to make when she said, "We were born on third and think we hit triples." I looked at that statement and i started to realize just how good I have it here in America. I took things from the rest of the book and tried to relate them to baseball too. For example, most of the parents want so badly for their children to do well in school so that they can get a good job and help the family, the parents never seem to tell their children that they have to be an engineer or a doctor. I saw this and went that sounds like my coaches talking to me during a practice. Coaches would tell me, "Take what you do well and do it. Don't become a type of player you aren't. If you hit line drives and get base hits do that. Don't try and hit home runs."
This book has suprisingly changed my mind and attitude more than I had anticipated it would. The book has made me more humble than I was, and it has made me appreciate more the blessings that I have been given. Most of all this book has made me, I think, into a person who is very unlikely to whine about what I don't have and what I can't do and work harder to reach my goals. I am also more likely to have an open mind when talking with someone who is less fortunate than me or is a refugee.
When I reached the midway point in the book, I was relatively sure that I could relate somewhat with the people from Mary Pipher's stories. Yet there was this feeling that I wasn't understanding what Pipher what trying to get across. I felt like I was still in some regards this underprivileged young adult.
When I started to get towards the end, Pipher started to talk more about the characteristics that she felt immigrants needed to have to succeed in America. It was at that time that I really began to understand just how bless I am to have been born in the United States of America. I read through the list and there were a number of characteristics that I felt that I had, but there were so many that I was unsure of. I finished the book with a sense of disappointment in those who lead this country, the people who live in it, and most of all myself.
As with most things I tried to relate the book back the thing that I understand the best, baseball. I immediately saw the connection that Pipher's friend Pam was trying to make when she said, "We were born on third and think we hit triples." I looked at that statement and i started to realize just how good I have it here in America. I took things from the rest of the book and tried to relate them to baseball too. For example, most of the parents want so badly for their children to do well in school so that they can get a good job and help the family, the parents never seem to tell their children that they have to be an engineer or a doctor. I saw this and went that sounds like my coaches talking to me during a practice. Coaches would tell me, "Take what you do well and do it. Don't become a type of player you aren't. If you hit line drives and get base hits do that. Don't try and hit home runs."
This book has suprisingly changed my mind and attitude more than I had anticipated it would. The book has made me more humble than I was, and it has made me appreciate more the blessings that I have been given. Most of all this book has made me, I think, into a person who is very unlikely to whine about what I don't have and what I can't do and work harder to reach my goals. I am also more likely to have an open mind when talking with someone who is less fortunate than me or is a refugee.
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