Ah, the problem of finding 'voice' crops up . . . well I recall from Linguistics Dr. Sobol's requirement that we describe our style as part of finding our voice. it was a difficult assignment and I finally used the words of someone else to describe myself and found it unsatisfactory. From reading Rachel's post, I find myself reassured that the process is ongoing; how could it not be since we are constantly living life, not just observing it. To remain the same from the beginning might result in stilted, repetitious delivery, something to avoid.

I read with interest Yashinsky's tale of the mouse mother who taught her children through experience and then said on page 95 ' you must always know how to speak a second language.'

My mother and father lived romance all of the 47 years of their marriage. Growing up in an environment filled with love taught me to expect the same, and when I discovered my father's love letters to my mother, I realized they had two different kinds of language - the one they spoke to one another, and the one they used for the rest of us. This prompted me to think about the life of the storyteller and I began to understand that is what we all do - we speak different languages in different situations, which is probably the way humanity manages to survive rubbing along with one another. This line of thought took me to Dr. Seuss, that master of words and the challenges we experienced in trying to speak that language effectively. Perhaps it is necessary to slide into the skin of a different language to speak it effectively.