Jake BrennerPersonal Narrative Reflection 9/18

Question 1. My initial process while working on my narrative was to unlock a part of my life from years ago and continue to grow on the lessons and ideas that it had taught me and put it to paper. This was difficult for me because in addition to the story of me eventually connecting to my religion, my initial thoughts were very upsetting to some of my family. My father, in particular, was the most upset. My distance towards my religion resulted in us having many arguments that were very upsetting. I narrowed the assignment topic by choosing the option that resonated with me and my experiences. This option alos made it much easier to connect with the character David because of the similar adversities that we had faced. My plan was to provide background to the reader of not only my experiences, but the experiences of my family before me. I believe I did a good job following through with this plan. Not only did their experiences help me, but they let me grow from my mistakes and live a stronger life.

Question 2. The ideas that were presented to me in my peer review allowed me to access an outside view of my narrative. This was extremely helpful because I was dealing with a story that was very personal and others might not be able to relate to. Having another set of eyes on my narrative allowed me to understand how it will look to people that is not myself. In addition, nobody will know my story as well as me so otherswill be able to tell me if there are holes in my story that would go unnoticed by myself.