Blog #2

Roxanne Gay’s text I Was Once Miss America initially startled me when she mentioned how much the Sweet Valley books still grasped her, even though she was well into adulthood. Most would assume that one would move onto more “mature” readings, yet she seems as hooked to the books now as she was then. Yet as I think about her attachments to them, I realize it is less the books themselves, but instead how they comforted her in such an emotionally trying time. Her adolescent years were full of harassment, bullying, and loneliness, so she turned to the books as an outlet from her horrible situation at school. This realization has caused me to reflect on the things I’ve done in the past and how they may still be haunting someone to this day. The things you do and say don’t just matter during that time, but decades later also. Gay still remembers particular conversations she had with the bullies in high school, as well as their first and last names. This shows how deep something may affect someone even if you don’t realize it. This text will guide me in remembering to always be kind , since you never know how deeply your words can affect others.