Campus involvement is crucial for the transition from high school to college. On a campus as big as the one of Florida International University, getting involved is imperative to network, make a difference, and get the most out of the college experience. For my campus involvement paper, I decided to attend the Richard Blanco event. On October 7, Richard Blanco, the author of The Prince of Los Cocuyos, came to the MMC campus at FIU. During the event Mr. Blanco spoke about himself and the characters of the novel, as well as the message he wanted the readers to obtain from reading it. I got excited for this event since the moment I found out about it. I can honestly say that I loved the novel and the way it was written. It was humorous, serious, …show more content…
Overall, he seemed like a very funny and a wonderful person. He began speaking about his journey and something I remember he said was that he was made in Cuba, assembled in Spain, and imported into the U.S. I could relate to this idea because I was not born in the U.S., I was born in Cuba. Throughout the presentation he spoke about the memoir and the characters that made the book what it was and ultimately shaped his life. He spoke about his mom and in a way made me sympathize more with her. He shared a poem he wrote called “Mother Picking Produce,” which showed the more fragile side of his mom. He also shared another poem about his dad called “Shaving.” He also read two excerpts from the book. I really enjoyed hearing what I have read in the voice of the author. It just made the parts funnier and in a way more personal. At the end, he told us about what he hoped we got from the novel. Richard Blanco said that it is a story that everyone can relate to not just Cubans. It is a story of self-awareness, it is a coming of age novel, and a coming of age story. He also said that if we did get something from the book was that we all become. We keep becoming as we change, as our experience change, we grow as individuals and we make ourselves better. I find this message to be a good one and a positive