The most interesting thing about this piece is how much I can relate to this "ranch girl" character, despite not being a ranch girl myself. Meloy does a great job with characterization, explaining the lifestyle of this girl and the details of the culture she's grown up in. Because of this and the second person narration, I'm brought into this character's world and I can empathize with her concerns of going East. I guess in some ways I can relate on a personal level - being from Alabama brings it's own stereotypes and struggles when it comes to moving to a different region. I also thought it was interesting that while the whole piece is basically highlighting the cons to being a ranch girl, she ends with, "but in the world you get old. You don't get old here. Here you can always be a ranch girl," giving the reader a hopeful feeling that no matter what, she always has home. That is something everyone can relate to and something everyone likes to remind themselves of for hope. It makes me think of the whole "daddy's little girl" idea, that no matter what you're parents are always going to love you and be there for you.
As far as what I can take away from this piece for my own writing purposes, I would definitely want to model the level of detail Meloy uses to bring the reader into this character's world. The possibility of having readers relate to a world and character nothing like their own would be great! I don't know if I could ever write an entire piece in second person narration, though, because while it brings the reader in on a more personal level, I feel it almost gets repetitive in the use of "you."
Overall, this is a very enjoyable, relatable, and well written story!
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