TOW #6 - "More Than Thick Eyebrows"

This essay is actually one written by an undergraduate (Caroline) accepted to Johns Hopkins University. She wrote about her Italian heritage, and how realizing that part of her has brought infinite opportunities for her to learn and expand her knowledge of both language and the world. At first, Caroline appeals to logos by talking about her family tree. She says, "It is the work of the generation that traveled from Istria in the north and Sicilia in the south, meeting through friends in Chicago, and encouraging their children to study hard and make a living for their future families." It seems odd that one would have to prove their heritage when talking about it, but I feel that Caroline saying this is important. It not only shows that she is in fact Italian, but how she is proud to call herself so due to the struggles her family members before her experienced to come to America. Most of the essay is focused on Caroline's deep need to learn the Italian language. Not only because it is a representation of her heritage, but also because in her own words, it feels so right to speak it. She says, "Rarely have I studied a topic that flows from my ears to my brain to my tongue as easily as the Italian language." In learning a new language, Caroline gets excited because she thinks of all the conversations she will get to have with her father and grandmother, all her favorite Italian songs she will be able to sing along to, and all her favorite Italian movies she will watch without the subtitles. I found that Caroline used a technique of focusing on her past (before she was born, to be exact) in Italian, how she is using it now, and how she plans to use it in the future, which really shows how much of an important part of her life it is.