MS - "keeping close to home"

I found this essay a bit long-winded at times. Some of her sentences are so long that you have to refer back to the first part in order to remember what she's discussing. Besides that issue, I thought this piece was a bit interesting. It was intriguing to see life, especially college life, from the perspective of a black woman. Varying points of view on topics such as assimilation and the perpetuation of racism aren't typically shown in high school classrooms. I've always liked discussing various topics and issues from several viewpoints. It expands your own way of thinking and helps define who you are and where you're coming from. For instance, I had never consciously realized how tiny items, like footnotes, can radically change the apparent audience and tone of one's writing. The idea that footnotes makes a piece of writing more "academic" has always been there in my mind but I never actually thought about how that idea affects my viewpoint. I guess, in the end, I like the semi-philosophical message of her essay.