The Girl Who Can

I liked all of the short stories that we read from the modern African writers, but I thought that the first story, by Ama Ata Aidoo was the one that was most interesting. I thought that the way that she wrote was really relatable because she focused on describing exactly how someone would actually feel and talk if they were the girl in the story. When the girl talked about how confused she was about what she should say and what she shouldn't for fear of getting yelled or laughed at, I thought that was a good insight, because I think thats how a child would really feel in the situation. The dialogue between the mother and the grandmother was really interesting too, and i like how she included in the story that the girl could understand the tension between her grandmother and her mother even if she didn't really know what they were talking about. I think that a lot of the time people forget how much kids can actually pick up on and that could lead to a lot of problems. Kids are a lot more aware of whats going on around them than adults give them credit for, I thought that the author of Geographies of Home really showed this too when she was talking about Iliana as a child.
What I liked most about the story was how the girl was able to find something that she was really good at from what other people might have viewed as a flaw. While her grandmother only saw her legs as a sign that she wouldn't be able to bear children well, other people recognized the talent that she could have as a runner because of this perceived deficiency. I thought that was a really good message, and it made me think of how many opportunities people must lose because they might be discouraged from doing something when they are younger because people don't think its acceptable or good for them to do. The fact that the girl in the story was so young and naive but could still understand how at first how disparaging her grandmother was of her legs and then at the end how proud she was of them shows how something so small can really influence somebody when they are young.