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What are the events recounted in the essay? Who are the people involved?

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What are the events recounted in the essay? Who are the people involved?

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The story begins with the main protagonist a 2nd-grade student explaining how lying has basically become second nature to her as she has grown up, she opens with 3 main stories proving this point the first story about how she lied to her classmate Diadema so she could steal her 5 peso bill in her bag, the second story being about how she had told her teacher that she had to leave school right away for a taping of a swim meet that never existed.  The third and final story is about how she wanted to wear her new dress to a school-wide mass when all students were required to wear a gala uniform. This story in particular shows us how farfetched some of the protagonist's lies went on to be as the lies in this story revolved around having two different birthdays because she was apparently born in Taiwan. After these stories, she recounts the times when she would wait for her mom to arrive home watching the street from the balcony for her return from work. From here on the protagonist reflects on why she lied so much and how in some ways they were a form of comfort and distraction from the harsh reality of her life. This questioning why she lied so much culminating in her finding and reading her mothers diary. Reading her mother's diary led her to face the harsh reality of her life that she used all those lies to cover up. From this point on she starts recognizing what comes with all the lies and pretending to live in a world that doesn't exist in anyone else's head. The inherent loneliness and the constant pursuit of approval from those around her, and the constant wondering if anyone actually cared as the lies were never questioned in the first place. She then comes to realize the importance of the truth not only in being truthful to others but also in how important is to be truthful to yourself.

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How are the events narrated? (Is it chronological, episodic, or fragmented? Are there flashbacks or foreshadowing in the essay?) What perspective(s) is/are presented in the retelling of the author's experience(s)?

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How are the events narrated? (Is it chronological, episodic, or fragmented? Are there flashbacks or foreshadowing in the essay?) What perspective(s) is/are presented in the retelling of the author's experience(s)?

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Most of the entire story is narrated from the first-person point of view from the perspective of the protagonist talking about her past filled with lies and how she is trying to find the truth within herself. The author uses stories from her past to tell us how she has become the person she is today. The author looks back at the times when she used lies to comfort herself and how she sees them from the point of view she has now

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How would you describe the author as portrayed in the essay?

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How would you describe the author as portrayed in the essay?

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Considering how personal the story is i think the author is very vulnerable in the essay showing her journey as she tries to come to terms with how she used to be and her journey as she tries to find true authenticity in her life. The author seems to be in a very vulnerable state as she opens up about a problem that she has been dealing with for a long time. Reading texts like this in a way allows me personally to connect and resonate more with the text, as its paints the author as a very human figure expressing incredibly human emotions.

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What do you think is the essay trying to say? What is its message?

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What do you think is the essay trying to say? What is its message?

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I think the main point of the essay as cliche as the phrase is basically saying the truth sets u free. The essay culminates with the idea that as we grow older we all struggle and strive to find authenticity in life and how these lies no matter how small can hinder us from understanding our true selves. The essay doesn't hide the fact that lying in itself is unavoidable and it's about how we deal with the lies after that matters. The essay pushes the idea of facing the truth no matter how hard it is as only by facing these different truths can we truly move on from these difficult experiences.

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Do you think that your chosen text is relevant to the world today? Why or why not?

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Do you think that your chosen text is relevant to the world today? Why or why not?

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I think a text like this in particular will always be relevant and to a point is timeless. The concept this essay talks about in particular focuses on truth and lies and how these things affect a person. The essay talks about how we use lies to cover the ugly truth that we dont want to face. It also tells us however that no matter how ugly the truth is that we cant truly move on without facing it first. I think the concept of truth and lies is something that will never be irrelevant because it is almost human nature to lie. We all lie for different reasons under different circumstances but that doesn't change the fact that we did lie and that is the reason why an essay about the importance of truth will always be important.

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Seeing the text and the world in each other: What do you think the short story/poem/essay tells us about the world? How is our world reflected in and by this short story/poem/essay? 

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Seeing the text and the world in each other: What do you think the short story/poem/essay tells us about the world? How is our world reflected in and by this short story/poem/essay? 

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Similar to my answer to the previous question lies is basically human nature and no matter how small happen on a daily basis. We all lie even I do. Of course, lying will always be wrong and the truth is always better, but I think it's sad that a lot of people in the world will rather fall into lies they tell themselves the actual truth. This shows that some of us  find the truly unbearable and im sure our protagonist isn't the first and last person to feel that way

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What are your personal thoughts, comments, and reactions to the short story/poem/essay you chose? In what ways does your chosen text resonate with you?

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What are your personal thoughts, comments, and reactions to the short story/poem/essay you chose? In what ways does your chosen text resonate with you?

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I am not proud of it but I chose the story because I too was quite the compulsive liar. If you ask a lot of people who know me they would say that I am the best at making “bola”. For a long time, I found it extremely easy to twist my words to get what I wanted or so that people would do something I wanted them to. That is the reason why the story resonated with me the most. As I have grown older I have come to realize the importance of the truth and have seen how it can lift the biggest weight off your shoulders. I have come to realize that the truth is what helps us deepen our relationships with people and is how we can come to know our authentic selves. Despite the pain that the truth brings it also lessens the burden that comes with all the lies that we tell ourselves and the people around us.