I tried
To fit in
At least I thought I did
I did what they said
I went along with their games
But
That wasn’t right
What they did was wrong
So in the end
I guess I didn’t.
I tried
To be pretty
I did everything she said
I bought all the clothes
I wore all the makeup
But
I will never look like her
I won’t be as skinny
My hair won’t look like that
So in the end
I guess I didn’t.
I tried
To be me
But
I was too busy pleasing them
So in the end
I guess I didn’t.
“No, Alicia says. Like it or not you are Mango Street, and one day you’ll come back too” (Cisneros 107).
This quote stands out to me because I can relate to it. I feel like this quote explaines my thoughts on White Oak. I feel like even though I say I want to leave, I will never be able to. I love White Oak don’t get me wrong, I just feel like there is so much more out there for me to experience. I have always been told I am not a “small-town girl”, and I don’t intend to be forever. I don’t feel like I belong in a bubble, but I want to experience life outside of our safe town. Everyone has told me that White Oak is like one of those towns you see on television, like one of those perfect societies where no one ever does any wrong. Aka: White Oak is fake. While I don’t think this town is a fake one, and I feel pride in my school, I don’t think it is all real either. I don’t hate this town, in fact I love it, which is why I don’t think I will ever get out. I hope I can, but White Oak has become a part of me that only I can see. I want to be able to say one day that I will come back, but not stay, but I don’t think that that will be the case. I think if I come back, I’ll be here for good.
“Hello my name is Esperanza. What is yours”
“Ender Wiggen.”
“What kind of name is Ender?”
“It is my nickname…my real name is Andrew.”
“Ohhh, I have always wanted a nickname, but it is hard to shorten a name like Esperanza.”
“Well not really, I mean, you could always go by ‘E’. However nicknames do not always have to be a shortened version of your name. At Battle School we gave each other all kinds of nicknames.”
“Like what?”
“Like we called the head of the Rat Army, Rose the Nose, because he was Jewish, he introduced himself as that, not me. We also called Bean, Bean, because when he was small he was told ‘he ain’t worth a bean’, and it stuck. Dinks nickname just rhymes, and Bonzo’s, God rest his soul, was really Bonito de Madrid. So, you see, nicknames aren’t that hard to come up with.”
“Well if you can come up with a nickname for me, you will be the Nickname King.”
“I can try, what do you like to do?”
“I like to jump rope, play dress-up, I like to write poems…I guess I don’t really like to do much.”
“No it is enough to spark intrest, you said you like to write poetry, what types do you write?”
“Mainly I write how I am feeling, so sad or angry most of the time.”
“Okay…what are some great poets that you portray through your pieces?”
“I’m not sure…I don’t think anyone.”
“Oh, okay, well lets think about your name…do you like, E, or Anza?”
“Anza is pretty…do I look like an Anza?
“Ya, I guess.”
“Okay then, I am no longer Esperanza, but Anza!”
“Haha okay, see you later Anza!”
“Thank you Ender goodbye!”
No photographer listed
source: http://purehdwall.com/friendship/girl-friendship-wallpaper.html
I selected this picture because to me it says friendship and love conquer all and in Esperanza’s story, even though she only has two main friends throughout her entire childhood they help her get through all of her ups and downs. Rachel and Lucy are the 2 young girls that she goes to for a lot of things, and when Sally comes along she opens her world up to brand new topics. Although Sally may not be the best influence because she is kissing boys in hidden places at the age of 12 or 13 and she gets married before 8th grade, she still gives E the experiences that a best friend would give her. When she was a child she was friends with just her neighborhoods kids and as she grows in a way she remains friends with them and just adds new faces to the mix. This picture reflects friendship because in a girls relationship with her best friends or even someone she just enjoys being around, there is love hidden in the mix. While best friends fight just like sisters they also love like them too. When E and Sally talk about Sally’s home life E can relate because she shared the same experiences at the fair when Sally was who-knows-where and E got raped. Friendship is built on love, trust, and like experiences and that is what, to me, this picture represents. E learns that to have friends you must be one at a very young age when she is the new girl on Mango Street. She learns that you have to let people in in order to grow.