I am glad to see that you have made a connection in your writing. In doing soyou find the story easier to relate to . To further develop your writing I would like to see you bring in texutal evidence to further support and extend what you are saying.

I am not who I was - Poem - Identity

I AM NOT WHO I WAS

Brandon Heath

Vincent Shum, 2-2

I wish you could see me now
I wish I could show you how
I'm not who i was

Used to be mad at you
A little on the hurt-side too
But i'm not who I was

Found my way around
To foriving you, sometime ago
But I never got to tell you

So..

I found us in a photograph
Saw me and I had to laugh
You know, I'm not who I was

Ooo, there you were right above me
And I wonder if you ever loved me
Just for who i was

When the pain came back again
Like a bitter friend
It was all that I could do
To keep myself from blaming you

Ooo..

Thinking that it's a funny thing
Figured out I can sing
Now I'm not who i was

I write about love and such
Maybe because I want it so much
I'm not who i was

I was thinkin' maybe I,
Should let you know
That I am not the same
But I never did forget your name

Hello

Ooo, a-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah

But the thing that I find most amazing,
The amazing grace
Is the chance to give it up
Maybe that's what love is all about

I wish you could see me now
I wish I could show you how
I'm not who i was

 The songwriter wrote about how he feels towards someone who was once important to his life.This song connects to identity because just as the title stated, he stated that he has turned into a completely different person, not the same person who he once was. He wrote and dedicated this song to that person who was in his life before. Most likely his ex girlfriend. He expresses how he feels now, and how he felt before. He wants her to know that hes different now, and maybe show her that hes been doing great and has moved on in his life. Changes happen when people have relationship with others. Whether you are with them or has left them, it changes, something inside. And it affects the way you think about things, the way you act, and choices you make in the future.

What does it mean to be an outsider or an insider? (The Lottery)

Tessie Hutchinson was an "inside" before she got picked to be stoned. She believed in the stoning ritual like every other villager. She believed that the lottery will actually bring rain into the village and harvest plants. But when she got picked, her fear of death came in. Everybody wants to live and not die. She was fine when other people before her got picked and die. But when it comes to herself. she started to deny the "practice" , and argued her way just to not die like the ones before her. She immediately became and "outsider" and gave up the practice. Maybe realized that it was just a bunch of non-sense  and nobody actually deserves to die this way.

First Assignment

I could relate fairly well with Greg in the story "Brother Dear". I tend to have a different opinion than everybody else in my family. I like to choose what I like to do , and when I want to do something. I think that its your life, so you should be able to make choices with freedom without other people saying other things to bring you down. I can understand why Greg flipped out when his dad was bringing him down about the choice that he made. But I think that Greg shouldve told his father before he went to the dinner, because holding the secret for too long made the matter worse.

Ever since I was small my parents taught me that if I want to live a good life, I need to get into university so I can get a good job. I think its partially true, but if you can not have fun during the process, it will really change your thoughts and views to something negative. You will always think about doing everything right and busy all the time. It just doesnt seem like the way of life for me. I want happiness.