english b

Who am I? What am I? I look in the mirror yet my reflection conceals itself from me. When someone asks me to tell them something interesting or unique about myself, I become a deer caught in the headlights. Last week, I spotted an attractive young lady on the other side of the dance at Club Static. I smoothly made my way towards her, with my eyes on her the whole time. When she noticed me walking towards her, we exchanged a faint smile. I walked up to her and asked for her name. She responded Lisa. She later began to tell about herself, her likes, dislikes, favorites and a bevy of information about herself. When she finished she asked me something the one thing that I dreaded, "tell me a little about herself?" I was dumbfounded. My confidence dropped severely and I began stuttering. All I could tell her was my name, again, and basic information that you can find on my birth certificate. My sudden lack of confidence became very evident and I could sense her being turned off. She stared deeply into my eyes and said, "You seem to not know who you are and where you come from. I cannot be with a lost soul. When Patrick Taylor is ready to come out and spill his insides out to me, then we can talk."
I was, and still am bothered about that situation to this day. Here I stand in my bathroom, staring at the mirror for the past hour and a half, not realizing that I have an appointment in less than thirty minutes. I threw on a Polo shirt and grabbed a strawberry and chocolate bar on my way out. As I make my way towards the elevator, I see Lisa to my surprise. I feel pessimistic as I work my way towards her. Suddenly, I begin to think of the empty mirror that I stood before prior to me stepping out of the door. I filled with a determination not to impress Lisa, but to let her know that I will find my reflection and when I do, I'll never lose it again. I move towards her with my chest out and head high. I began, "Hey my name is Patrick Taylor and I'm a newspaper editor. I enjoy listening to slow music and having intimate conversations with the lights dimmed. I have no favorite food because I pretty much eat anything. I look to be quite an interesting individual so I would like to spend more time with you, learning more as time goes by." I look into her eyes and I notice my reflection in them. She has become a part of me. Some stranger from the club who I decided to speak to played a role in me finding who I am. She snapped out of her surprise and gave me a smile sweeter than the strawberry chocolate candy bar that I held in my hands and said "It's nice to finally meet you Patrick Taylor, I'm Brittany Essence. I too am interested in getting to know. How about we meet up tonight at seven thirty at The Café. We can call it a date minus the slow music and dimmed lights plus the intimate conversations." She smiled at me and I smiled at her all the way to the main floor and out the door while conversing about our love for strawberries and chocolate. On my way to work, I realized that I too am a part of her as she is a part of me. I reached the doors to my job and thought… this is the beginning of a great day… Then again, this is the beginning of my life.


The images posted reveal that Patrick is an invisible man that eventually found himself when he is able to reveal who he is to Britanny and realize that they are one of a kind. Although he had the confidence to go up and speak to Lisa/Britanny, he was not able to tell Britanny much about himself, therefore, making him a very hollow man. He did, indeed, have an identity. However, he does not know how to call forth this idenity and express himself or as Lisa stated, "spill his insides out." In similarity to Hughes poem, Hughes also seemed lost as to how to express himself. However, as he outlines his day and speaks on his likes and dislikes, he comes to the conclusion that everyone, no matter what race he/she belongs to, are alike.