Ava Evans’s Reviews > Educated > Status Update

Throughout the last parts of this section, Tara provides a slight mirror to me. She stumbles into a time in her life where she “began to defer…to the judgement of others” (Westover 294). Tara doubts everything that she thinks and while it’s in a completely different situation, I feel that as well, relying on others to make sure I did things right.

An unspoken rule in Tara's family is that they don't rely on the government for anything, which was backed by her father's skepticism of it. When the Bishop at her college tries to help her get a grant, she says that she "[doesn't] believe in grants" and explained about her father (Westover 202). Tara refuses to take the grant for the longest time because that is the rules in which she lived under her whole life.

I’ve found the dynamic the family has in this book to be interesting. Tara had never I’ve feelings towards both Shawn and her father, but when they got injured, she was there by their sides, helping them to recover. It’s interesting how a person can feel like they dislike a family member but deep down, they still feel love for them from the good times, maybe few they were, that they shared.

The essential question about the impact on adversity starts to become relevant when Tara begins to venture her way out into society. When Tara goes to take the ACT for the first time, she "felt stupid" seeing the other people take the ACT and she decided that "was their world" and "stepped into overalls and returned to [hers]" (Westover 135). This shows how Tara's challenging lifestyle compared to the others lives.

I am noticing a mirror between Tara and Tyler and my siblings and I. When Tara was struggling with Trig, she asked Tyler to come help, and Tyler “just explained the principles patiently, over and over” (Westover 127). This shows the bond good siblings have with each other where even if they can’t see each other all the time, they will still help out, no matter what.