Part1:

External Influences On My Me
My school
My parents
My friends
My peers
Boyscouts of America
My JROTC Unit
My co-workers
My teachers
The Music I listen to

From the moment we are born it is the external influences on our life that determine how
we act and behave. The first couple years of our life our parents raise us and try their best to tell
us what is right and wrong. When to apologize when we are being rude to others and when do
say thank you to someone who has gone out of the way for us. When we are old enough to enter
grade school, from there our peers, friends, and teachers begin to shape our actions. The teachers
set us up for academic excellence and teach us all the thoughts, skills, and what actions are
needed to get there. When in a group setting with friends, we often do things we never thought
we would do before simply because all of our friends are doing it, so we do it too to become a
part of the group, its just human nature. Many of my personal writing experiences in grade
school would include personal narratives of how I might have done something to impress
someone and how it backfired, or just life lessons in general. These writings, however, allowed
me to reflect on the past and see how certain groups have shaped me to who i am today.

Part2:
In your post consider asking and answering the following questions:
When listening to the Morelia Cuevas and Manuel Cuevas story I was very interested
to see the two major influences he had on his life. What was surprising to me was that when he
was growing up, all the boys his age that would play sports and games outside had no affect on
him, he would rather stay inside and think about the clothing piece he was going to make next.
He was strong enough to overcome this external influence and follow his own path by becoming
a great tailor. He was so talented that he made Johnny Cash into The Man In Black with his
skills and even made custom outfits for Dolly Parton, his work was so talented it was a form of
literacies. The next story I read was about Anthony Tony Bees Planakis. He was a retired
police detective who became a beekeeper. He talked about a story from his child where watching
bees really influenced him to take up the motto Ive learned from the bees patience, respect,
you know, and um, I guess work til you die. His connection to literacy was his form of
storytelling.