Responses

Everett: In the story "Longing to Belong" Saira goes to Aunt Amina to tell her she does not want to be married into the same lifestyle as the others. Her Aunt then goes and lies to Sairas uncle's wife to save her from getting married. Is there a time where you had to lie to someone for the betterment of a friend or family member?

When I was younger, I had a younger cousin who was always in trouble with her parents for doing things that she knew not to do. So one night, we were outside playing in front of her house. She suddenly pulled out a BB gun and shot a cat. But instead of hitting the cat, she hit the neighbor's house. She didn't break anything but it caught the neighbor's attention. We got up and ran towards the basement where we hid for hours. Finally, the neighbor came over and talked to my cousin's Mom and told her that my cousin had a BB gun. Well, I'm not as the person to trust in my family. So her Mom came and asked me if Tanesha had a BB gun or not. So I knew if I had told the truth, my cousin would had been in so much trouble. I decided to lie and say that we were throwing rocks. She believed me and left the situation alone. Well my dumb cousin decided to tell the truth after I had just gotten her out of it, then we both got into trouble.

"Longing to Belong"

In "Longing to Belong," Saira's uncle feeds her tidbits from his mouth so that she feels that she is favored and part of the family. Has there been a time where you felt that you had to do something "special" to fit in your community or even just in your everyday surroundings? How does this relate to Marji and when she skipped school with her friends?

How can your parent/guardian picking who you will be marry to affect your "voice and resonance" not only in your community but towards your own life?