Sandra's Reflection on "How it Feels to be Colored Me" by Zora Neale Hurston

I was able to relate to this piece. This writing demonstrated Hurston's appreciation of being black. In the piece, she tells the reader how she listened to jazz music and felt like it was "emotions of purple and red" to her. She also conveyed how the music made her feel like "attacking someone" when she listened to it.

Zora wrote that she did not always feel black--only when she was in the company of a white person. I feel that I could relate to this because sometimes I forget my cultural background. Only in the company of other people who question or point out my race do I remember my culture. She felt that she was discriminated against but she did not feel angry. Instead it amazed her that someone could deny her company. There were no white people in her town, yet she felt different. I think that this showed how one can feel different in his/her own cultural group.

This piece relates to me a lot. I imagine a lot of females who are in minority groups can feel like they need to acknowledge the fact that they're girls, and that their cultural history is different, but then move on.