For the first time in a long time, I remained interested in and thoroughly enjoyed this reading. I think one of the main reasons why I liked this reading was because it was a story of Sligh's true life. It was truely moving to read about her struggles throughout childhood. I also found it ridiculous that Clarissa's father told her that no one would want to marry her if she became too independent. In my eyes, independence is a good thing and it is what makes you who you are. I also found it very interesting that because her momma hated the life she lived, she in return wanted more for her daughter. It is kind of a motherly instinct to try to give their children a better life than they had. It was sad to hear Clarissa talk about all of the things that her black school lacked such as, a gymnasium, cafeteria, science lab, and library. These are all things that we take for granted on a day to day basis. It was heart-wrenching to hear her talk about how nervous she was to take part in the court case, especially after the lynching and the riot at the university. It was almost like she was having to live her life in fear everyday. It was difficult to read about the newspapers making Clarissa's story out to be something different then it really way because it was almost like I was fighting for her. I loved the last two paragraphs of the story because it threw you for a loop. I would have never expected to hear Clarissa say that she is now a photographer. But, at the same time it made me proud of her to hear that she wants to make photography into what it really should be.