Well hello to anyone who is now reading this. So far, my snapshot essay is going great. Whenever I am writing the essay I think about Kothari and Malcolm X and use their snapshot's as my referance. This way of writing my snapshot, through comprehensively understanding the two snapshots we've read in class helped me a lot. Without reading the reflections of Malcolm X or Kothari's peice I wouldn't have known exactly how to do a snapshot. Now, because I know I am very grateful.

Secondly, my snapshot essay is on a very straightforward subject. It is all about reading. I will start from when I first read, what I read, and my first feeling on reading. I chose reading  because I just love reading teen fiction books, futuristic, adventure and Greek and Roman mythical books. Whenever it is my intention to read I plan it out. First, I get my reading space ready. Since, I believe reading to be a journey then I would like to be as comfy and cozy as possible. Then if its warm I get frozen yogurt, a smoothie, fruits, or ice cream ready. If it is cold I get a warm beverage. A latte, hot mocha, Somali tea, and bread with cheese metled in the middle with honey and rasplberry topping put over. Whenever I am ready, I get my favorite blanket and prepare to take off.  I know then that when I start reading, my mind is not going to be in this world anymore. Rather it will voyage into another realm. I just love that about reading! It's like traveling without having to be there physically, I think this phenomenon is such a wonderrful gift from God.

If You Are What You Eat, Then What Am I? - Geeta Kothari

Kothari, the narrator of the story in 'If You are What you Eat, Then What Am I?' is very detailed in explaining the different aspects of her life when it comes to food. The main summary of this essay revolves around the food choices of Kothari as an Indian-American. Her family, who originally came from India have certain ideals set on how food should taste. Moreover , Kothari's parents expect their children to hold on to traditional foods. Kothari's mother goes about this by cooking traditional dishes every now and then. Since Kothari was a child she was curious about the foods that she couldn't have. She developed an internal struggle and a longing for different tastes. Her mother saw this desire in Kothari and felt the need to learn various America dishs to give her children a sense of belonging to this new culture.

From this essay, I see how different cultures can have different opinions on what tastes 'good'. It can be easily agreed that where a person comes from has the ability affect their different food options. Kothari also made me come to the realization that what I find tasty, may not be tasty to others and culture may play a part in that. In other words a persons culture plays an essential role in the food they consume.

All in all, the essay was exceptionally well written; especially the part where Kothari describes the different diet transitions that took place in her life, "...And how do we go from to Chef Boyardee to pasta and home-made sauce, made with Redpack tomatoes, crushed garlic, and dried oregano? Macaroni and cheese made with fresh cheddar and whole milk, sprinkled with bread crumbs and paprika. Fresh eggplant and ricotta ravioli, baked with marinara sauce and fresh mozzarella? " This enticing way in which Kothari described the different food changes to her daily menu, honestly had my mouth water. Then again, every type of food becomes desirable when one is hungry. Anyway, the main objective that I learned from Kothari's piece is that food is beautiful only to the sight of it's beholder. In other words, the beholder is the only one who can taste the sensation that a particular plate has to offer.

"Literacy looms as one of the great engines of profit and competitive advantage in the 20th century: a lubricant for consumer desire; a means for integrating corporate markets; a foundation for the use of technology; a raw material in the mass production of information"

Above, Brandt describes literacy as a benefit to the growth and sustainability of a society. Many of the sentiments of Brandt wrap around the idea of literacies importance and function when it comes to each class in society. Whether one is considered to be a part of the "minority" or not literacy affects each person the same way. Ofcourse, this substantial factor depends on whether a person takes every oppurtunity present to better their literacy skills. However, this equity in obtaining high literacy was examined very differently by Brandt.

In the section titled, Sponsorship and the Rise in Literacy Standards; Brandt states the following, "Sponsors are engaged in ceaseless processes of positioning and repositioning, seizing and relinquishing control over meanings and materials of literacy as part of their participation in economic and political competition. In the give and take of these struggles, forms of literacy and literacy learning takes place."

I find this particular statement of Brandt to be very interesting. The reason why is because Brandt is indicating that those in the higher positions in society are responsible for the  resourcing of literacy to the general public. Themany faces of literacy are not giveb to the public with the intention to educate the populace with the benefit of literacy. Rather competitions take place beween the sponsers on who can cease and relrelinquish power in the process of producing literacy.

This way of producing literacy is not only beneficial to society as a whole, but it is also convinient for those who wish to gain "goodies" from their production of literature for people.