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In President Obama's interview of What Books Mean to Him, he states, "And part of what we’re all having to deal with right now is just a lot of information overload and a lack of time to process things. So we make quick judgments and assign stereotypes to things, block certain things out because our brain is just trying to get through the day."

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This was the original statement I choose for the first assignment for the class. It is still the statement that stands out to me. The reason it does stand out to me is in today's world, our minds are so busy we don't even realize certain things anymore. When we open the piece of literature and remove ourselves from everything else, we can become aware of everything that is going on in the story. We can easily put stereotypes or bias on certain things without realizing it, but when we connect with what we are reading, we may finally realize what we are doing.

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This poem was about a first grader, along his friends, how they act. When I read this, I was able to go back in time and relate to when I was a kid. This a a great thing about this poem. You remove yourself from everyday life, and take a step back to reminisce about the old, care-free days of being a child.

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This is a short poem but with a deep meaning. The great thing about poems is it gets your mind thinking about what is written. Even though this is a short poem, the reader may be able to connect to everyday issues. We may all have issues arise in life, but it is bound to get better...so we hope.

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In A&P, there is a young boy who quits because of his boss's behavior to three girls his age. The connection to the statement comes from the reader being able to decide who was in the right and who was in the wrong. It is in stories like this were the reader gets to decide what actions are right. When reading a story, you almost must make these judgment calls.

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In the poem America, it goes on to talk about an immigrant that is afraid of losing their prior identity, This was an interesting poem to read as it made me think of different things about how my family came to America. This may not be thought about in everyday life, but when you read about certain things, you are able to connect certain pasts or memories to it. Without literature, certain things would be forgotten.

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In Eveline, you read about a girl who needs to decide to stay with her father or her boyfriend. The way this connects with the statement is the way the story is wrote. It is written descriptive, allowing your mind to imagine these things. That part we read was without an ending. This story allowed me to take a step back, and let my mind do the work.

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The House on Mango Street is a story of a young, Latino girl growing up in the barrios, or a poor neighborhood. Because the story touches base on some racial attributes, the reader is able to connect with them. It allows a greater understanding of things that may be going on in everyday life but are not realized since we are not actively looking for them. In this story, you can almost connect with the character.

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This is another poem that goes on to describe how a girls life is changing now she is fifteen. This connects with the statement in a way it is bringing up certain things in culture that a reader may not understand. Even though the girl is struggling to cope to the newfound things that are now required of her, it does not necessarily mean it is a bad thing. Readings like this may help to understand different things in culture instead of just reacting to them.

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In the play Fences, we are almost able to connect to the individual characters. We come to apart in the play when the a the father does not want his son to go to a secondary school to play sports due to the father's past A way this connects to the original statement is that the father doesn't even realize that he is making a quick judgement just because of something that has happened to him prior. As the reader though of the play, we can see exactly what is happening.

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Out of the readings for this semester, I would say the House on Mango Street was my favorite. Part of this has to do because a part of my research paper had to on the story, but the other part was the way it was written. I really enjoyed the way it was written in such short chapters, with an individual story in each one. Also, I enjoyed the way it was written, as you had to pay attention the entire time you were reading.

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A way to connect this idea outside of literature for me would be sports. It is easy to get upset when the wrong call is made and it affects your team. When it happens to the other team, it is easily forgotten it was a bad call. This can happen quite frequently with many things in life. The things that affect you are looked at in a different way than the ones that don't affect you. In today's world, there is less time to just sit back and relax to look upon the day

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The basis of this story is a girl who is coming of age and the expectancy of who and what she is required to be. This is a great piece of literature where you are able to connect with certain issues you may not deal with in real life. Are these rules correct and best? That is something only the reader can decide.

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I, Too, is a poem about a a person who realizes he is a darker brother, but also is still an American. The connection to this is the stereotypes that still can go on today, even if they are unnoticed. When you are reading about something, you have to connect to the reading. Realizing that these things can still be going on makes to take a different look at certain things in life.