Cat Case

Assignment 2

Every human holds a past that they may call their "history." As personal as may be, ones history can be accurately read through different types of mediums. The most accurate way to show my grandmother's history is through oral story. My grandmother was born on November 21, 1919 in a province of the Philippines called Illocos Sur. As my grandmother grew up, she experienced many life-changing events. These events have left unforgettable memories in my grandmother's life that have also greatly formed importance to lives of the people around her. My grandmother's oral stories have perfectly illustrated her past as well as shown her history.

An oral story is a very common way of how people talk about their past. These stories are capable of going more into personal depth of an individual. Oral stories are also a form of tradition. In my grandmother's stories she talks about her mother and grandmother and how she learned many of her values she has today from what they have told her as a child. These values have been passed down from my grandmother to my mother and now to my sister and I. The words shared orally between the line of women on my grandmothers side have taken a huge part of my grandmother's history because they have made her become into the woman she is today. All of the countless times my grandmother spent with her mother and grandmother illustrates the intimacy that oral story telling has upon an individual and how effective they are in their lives.

Oral stories are the best way to connect to my grandmother's history. This type of storytelling is known for expressing words into a narrative form. It also has a tendency of being able to reveal more personal experiences of a person. Within each story that is told, an individual has full control of making it as detailed as wanted. My grandmother did just that. She is a very outspoken woman and uses her freedom of speech to full extent. With her extroverted personality my grandmother has never been scared or secretive to tell me of her personal experiences. I am able to understand the good and the bad of her life growing up and she