This article was very interesting to me. I thoroughly enjoyed how the author talked about her childhood and her past. The author was constantly bullied by the popular kids at her school. She was the only Haitian kid in her grade, which made her more noticeable to the mean kids even more. When Vanessa Williams, the first black woman to win Miss America, it sparked joy and hope for al young ladies around the nation, including the author. Roxane Gay told all of her bullies that one day she would become Miss America in the future. What I really liked about this article was that she talked about the stereotypical, nice and blonde popular girls that are perfect and have everything in the world. Growing up in such a cruel world, society taught people that only thin, blonde, and white girls are perfect and would succeed and become Miss America. Until, society started to change, showing that in the American Dream, you can do or be whoever you want to be or do anything in life. So when Vanessa Williams won Miss America, it truly showed how our nation is rapidly changing, hopefully for the better. Towards the end, she mentioned about nostalgia. As she grew up, she so desperately wanted to be true to herself, but indulging in her books. She never missed being in high school, but she became nostalgic over one of her favorite book series, Sweet Valley High. Reading those series made her feel better and she truly enjoyed those times with her favorite books. She misses the people in the books during the good times she had back then. As she grew older, she knew she would never become Miss America, but Vanessa Williams offered her the fun idea that there is a possibility, just like her favorite book series. The popular twins in the book, she loved the idea of them and got to have the fantasy, but knew she would not be like them during her grade school days. However, that just meant she had a bright career ahead of her instead.
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