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I think that Birth is like discovering a new species, scary, exhilarating, but overall just pride. The birth wasn't the most fairytale like ideal situation, but when she realizes that she is now responsible for another human, she is overcome with emotion, and she gets a little scared. Without birth, and this pain, no human would be here on this planet. I have a deeper understanding for what a mother feels after a birth after reading this chapter.

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I think that Bui started the story with her giving birth because it introduces us to her and some of her family members in a very transparent and honest way. It gives a preview of the dynamic within her family and highlights that she has a habit of being the "baby" by surrendering control.

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I think Bui starts her story with the story of giving birth because of its connection to her mother and when her mother gave birth many years earlier in Vietnam. It is interesting to think about the differences of their birth-stories because although they are in different countries in different times and with different resources, in some ways they are also similar which gives Thi the "wave of empathy"(Bui 22) towards her mom and what she went through.

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I guess this is sort of an interesting way to start a book because you can look at birth as a beginning of something meaningful and beautiful, and we just started the book. Like this baby being born shows how bad/  stressful situations can have a good outcome.

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The main thing I am starting to notice is the amount of power and responsibility Thi begins to have when she gives birth to her son. Close to the end of the chapter, she says "family is now something I've created, not something I was born into. In this moment she realizes that she is the one who now has to take care of her family and isn't the one being cared for.

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I think Bui starts off the book with her giving birth instead of her family's story so that she can tell the story of her own experiences and see how her family's experiences have affected her and the way that her life has turned out. Now, I understand the images more clearly and see how Bui tried to portray herself. For example, in some of the panels she looks powerless, tired and worried. We can see all of these things through her body language, facial expressions, and the colors of the book.

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Some ideas about the theme of birth that I'm seeing are empowerment and fear. In the book, Thi is afraid that she will now have that immense responsibility that comes with taking care of a child. She's afraid of failing because of her pass trauma and her fear of not being able to raise her child like her mother did with her. A good metaphor to this would probably be driving a car, although it's very empowering to be in the driver seat and be able to drive where you want, it's also very frightening to have to be responsible for others lives and also your own.

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In the memoir, birth signifies a challenge for Thi, but also a new beginning. The concept of birth already creates a new beginning for what is being born, however, in Bui's case, it represents a new chapter in her life - one where she'll be leading the family and responsible for those in it. This concept of new beginnings and birth connects to the experience of her and her parents immigration to the States, being that their immigration, of course, was an entirely new chapter for the family.

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I think that the beginning really sets the tone for the story. While I was reading, I could almost feel the anxiousness of the character and the emotions they were feeling. Not only that, but I feel like this part sets up the story kind of like a prologue, but opposite, timeline-wise. Instead you get a sneak peek of her building her own family, and understand more where she's coming from when the story continues.

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I think Bui started this story with Thi giving birth because it is a very intense and painful moment, and it ties into the themes of the story. We can tell this book centers around family from Thi's deeper reflections about creating her own. We also can see the strong presence her mom will have in this story, seeing as it starts with Thi's journey in motherhood, her constant asking where her mother is, and the last line about her empathy towards her mother. This moment is also monumental for her life, and she is thinking a lot of deep things that reflect us for us to analyze, and get almost a preview of what's to come.

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I think that Bui starts the story with Thi giving birth because it instantly gives you an idea of the discomfort that you would feel whilst reading the story, and prepares you for it. This is because the story covers a lot of traumatic things from the Vietnam war to the experiences of her and her family.

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Bui starts her story about her family's refugee experience with the giving birth. After talking with mutable group and the class I believe that she did this for two reasons, one to prepare us for the intensity of the subjects to come and two, to let us see into her world and feel her pain in order to from a deeper connection with her and to gain more empathy for her story.

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Birth is a sign for new beginnings, a new life being brought into the world, almost like a piece of clay to mold. Thi mentioned a bit about her childhood, and from what we have heard so far, it wasn't exactly rainbows and unicorns. In the last 2 pages, she comes to the realization that she is now in control of her child's life, at least for a little while, and she has power to make her child's life amazing, but also to make it bad.

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Something I understand deeper is the difference between Thi and her mom's childbirth experiences. Thi got medical treatment and a C-Section, but her mom had to go through labor six times. I also think that Bui starts the story off with Thi giving birth because it reflects the fear that her parents probably felt, and sets a tone for the book. Instead of easing us in, we are pushed into this world.

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Birthing is a very intense process which creates the beauty to fill our world. This opening scene introduces the theme of pain and hard work for a brighter future, especially for the next generations. It also addresses responsibility and persistence in face of challenges.

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Something deeper I understand is the contrast between Thi and her son's first experiences in the world. Since Thi was born during the Vietnam War, the atmosphere of her and her son were probably very different.