"And Are You a Latina Writer? "

In my English 1A class, Professor Lennon had my class read a selection from Judith Cofer's memoir ,Woman in Front of the Sun on Becoming a Writer , called "And Are You a Latina Writer? ." After the reading we were asked to answer questions from a worksheet titled Verbal or Writing Respones for Open Discussion- Non Fiction and Fiction. We had to choose four out the seven questions and give a detailed response about each question we decided to answer. And here were my responses.

1. I liked (Pick something)_________ because......
I liked the part when Judith Cofer said  "My mission as an emerging writer became to use my art as a bridge.." when saying this Cofer was stating that since she is both a Latina and American she will not choose a side. I became more interested in what she was saying at that point because it made me really think about myself. I am also Latina and American and I feel that I can relate to Cofer because I as well didn't choose a side I am willing to cross that bridge of my two cultures willing and with no fear.

3. I found (Pick Something)__________ interesting from a reader's point of view because.....
I found Cofer writing in English rather then Spanish interesting from a reader's point of view because I thought since she was more open about her culture i figured she would use both writing styles. She mentioned that English is her literary language and Spanish is her familial language. After reading i began to understand that yes she may be Latina but that doesn't mean she has to write in Spanish. I believe its just a writer's choice in style that she chooses to write in English. Cofer ended with a quote by Nicholas Mohr "Because I am a daughter of the the Puerto Rican Diaspora, English is my language that gives life to my work." With reading this quote I came to the conclusion that Cofer chose to write in English because she wanted to bring her work to life to America and the best way of doing that would be to write in English.

6. My very favorite part was_________ because.....
My very favorite part is how she wrote that she knows who she is because by coming to America she could have just put her culture behind her and forget about it but no she didn't. She is proud to say that is  Puerto Rican but doesn't feel the need  label her literature with her culture.  I felt honored to read this part in the selection because I believe she wanted to give other Latina writer's the courage to be proud of who they are and not be ashamed. Even though I'm not necessarily a writer I know that I can proudly say that I am Latina!!

7. I learned a couple of important things form reading this. The first was ___ and I think that's important because... The second was ____ and that's important because....
I learned a couple of important things from reading this. The first was that there will always be a bridge that i must cross in my life and I think it's important because by me being able to cross it I know that nothing in this world will stop from being proud of who I am and what I am. The second was by being considered both an American and a Latina I should stand up in a crowd and be proud of who I am because there is nothing in this world that will stop me. I believe by me expressing this is actually important because there are always going to be people who will judge me by who I am but I know for a fact that they will not bring me down from being a successful woman in the future.

After answering the four questions I got a clearer and better understanding of Cofer's selection. I understand now that me being of two cultures I should express who I am to this world and be thrilled to reveal the side of me that others should see. I believe Cofer truly helped me appreciate my culture better and I thank her for that. And thank you to my Professor for giving us the chance to see the world thorough another one's eyes.