Reflection

612508 10-3-13 Throughout life we have many turning points that can determine one’s pathway through life and some that could possibly change us. In “The Great Rat Hunt Story” by Laurence Yep he writes about a personal story that involves the issues that he had to endure as a child which he felt ashamed about, he also talks about his father. As a kid Laurence wasn’t the typical athletic kid like the one his father was when he was his age, his father would attempt to teach his older brother and him everything that there is to know about American sports but Laurence’s asthma always exhausted him. “ While my brother and father practiced, I could only sit in bed, propped up by a stack of pillows.” Laurence never could achieve what his father over-prevailed. Laurence’s father would venture into guiding Laurence into the art of sports, but since Laurence suffered from asthma his lungs would always fail him. “During the times I felt well, I tried to keep up with them, but my lungs always failed me. When I had to sit down on the curb, I felt as if I had let my father down. I’d glance up anxiously when I felt a shadow over me; but he looked neither angry nor disappointed- just puzzled, as if he could not understand why my lungs were not like his… Ashamed, I would gasp. “Go on… and play.” At this point Laurence truly felt that he wasn’t his father’s son just because he didn’t have the stamina to play as long as his father and older brother could. Experiences can characterize one’s life journey and personal development as well. An exemplar from “The Great Rat Hunt Story” is Laurence’s father. As a young child Laurence’s father had to learn what independence was. Laurence’s father became independent at an early age because when he came from China his mother had to stay back because America would not let women tailgate their husbands during that time period. “You have to be tough in this world, boy. There are going to be some times when no one is around