Valerie Gray

HON 1000
Professor Ewing
November 20th, 2016
Evaluative Statement
I included my sample work Empty Promises because it was a unique compared my
other writings. I found it difficult before, to write a narrative piece of fiction, but I enjoyed this
assignment. I chose an Irish immigrant for this assignment because my mother has Irish origin.
I was curious to find out how and why her ancestors may have come to the country.
This was the prime example of how we as students were guided in to really putting
ourselves in another persons shoes and viewing something from their perspective. I hope that I
can translate this ability into my future career as a doctor. Understanding a persons origin and
how they fit into society can give a clearer idea of what their illness might be, especially if its a
mental illness. Often times, patients may withhold information they find embarrassing or leave
stuff out they think is a given. Knowing their social customs and views can help fill in the
missing gaps and lead to a diagnosis.
Upon completing this work, I learned a lot about Irish customs in the 19th and 20th
century. I learned about the difficulties faced by many immigrants as they came to American,
and I learned how and why cites began to form. It gave me a better sense of the origin of
diversity and discrimination in our nation as a whole.