Reflective Essay's Out Of The Dust

As I was reading Out of the Dust, I found myself relating to the story. Billie Jo was desperate to get out of her small town, just like I was when I was growing up. I grew up in a small town just like Billie Jo and I wanted to escape from it. When I graduated from high school I was highly anticipating college. Although I would only be moving about 2 hours away, I was so excited for this new adventure because in my mind anywhere was better than Aberdeen, Idaho. At some point most people have felt this way about where they came from and this feeling was nothing new to Billie Jo.

Billie Jo experienced a very traumatic event that she desperately wanted to escape from. On top of losing her mother, she also wanted to escape the harsh elements of her home town. However, when Billie Jo went far away from home, she slowly realized how much home meant to her. “And I know now that all the time I was trying to get out of the dust, the fact is, what I am, I am because of the dust. And what I am is good enough. Even for me.” This is a statement that I definitely relate to. When I went away from home, I began to realize how fortunate my upbringing was. I found myself wanting to return to

“The way I see it, hard times aren't only about money, or drought, or dust. Hard times are about losing spirit, and hope, and what happens when dreams dry up.” Hard times seemed to be at every corner for Billie Jo, but she managed to get through it. She was quite mature for her age, but she also had to be. Her mother and baby brother were gone, and she was left with burned hands and a distant father. I love to play piano and I can’t imagine what it would be like if I couldn’t play properly. In a sense, this book made me grateful for many things in my life. I have never read a book before where I felt gratitude. However, I found myself writing down things I was grateful for and some of the things I listed surprised