I Like It!

I like it! I have really enjoyed this class, and most of what we have read or viewed. My favorite one though has been Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya.

I felt that I could really connect to Antonio in this story and that helped me learn from and enjoy this book. Antonio was forced to grow up quicker than he would have had he not experienced what he had. Antonio had to see three people killed right in front of him, try and earn the approval of his older brothers, and be a good student. Growing up my grandma, an aunt, and an uncle all died. I was the oldest nephew in the family and I had become close to them, having them pass forced me to learn about the reality of life and death at a young age. I am the oldest child in my family so I didn’t have older brothers to impress, but I had older cousins, uncles, grandpas, and a father that I felt like I needed to impress and gain their approval; something very important to me. I wanted my older family members to treat me like an equal and include me and eventually they did. We now share a strong bond and love because of the experiences we went through together. I have always tried to be a good student and have striven to be at the top of my class (something that has been real hard now that I’m at BYU). My father is a dentist and has been very successful at everything that he has done, this has always encouraged me to be at my best and match or exceed his accomplishments.

As Antonio went through his experiences and I through mine, I know that we have had to mature and grow up quicker than most other boys that we grew up with. As I read the end of Bless Me, Ultima I learned something new. I learned that growing up is all the things that I just wrote about, but it is also being able to form relationships in which you care about the other person more than you care about yourself. Antonio ran ten miles, just to try and save Ultima. I guess I still have some growing up to do.