I thoroughly enjoyed all of the readings this week. The one I especially connected with was "A & P" by John Updike. As explained in my forum, the reason I enjoyed it so much is because I feel as if I have been in the narrator's place, being a cashier at my dad's local grocery store. It really is rather amazing how little experiences such as these can teach us not only about the world around us, but also ourselves. I've learned a lot about myself through these "small scale" experiences in life. Working at the store has taught me how I respond to certain situations, what I can work on for my future, and how much effort and dedication it takes to run a business. Just as the narrator feels a connection to the girls, I sometimes feel a connection to customers. I want to help them out as much as possible. When things don't always go right for them, I feel like it is partly my responsibility to help. Also, I appreciated how Updike wrote the story using simple diction. He did not use a mass of huge words, but rather he simply told the short story in a way that is definitely easy to comprehend for to most people. I think this makes the story that much better.