"We Were Po'"

Journal 3

Ball State University was graced with the presence of Jeannette Walls this Thursday night. Although, Walls made it feel as if she was the one being blessed with an auditorium filled with freshman and faculty. Walls, the writer of the best-selling memoir, The Glass Castle, opened her lecture with an immediate statement about how great it felt to be wanted and welcomed at a university lecture hall.

My first impression of Walls as she started to speak was that she is the most humble lady in the world. Walls was quick to mention her appreciation for being at Ball State, but unlike most speakers, she stressed how grateful she was for an audience that wanted to hear what a weird lady like herself had to say.

Walls, fully aware that a majority of the audience consisted of freshman, used informal language like “knucklehead” and “S.O.B.” to appeal to the audience. Her hand gestures and enthusiasm in storytelling kept even the uneager students attentive.

Jeannette spoke of life lessons she learned and the stories in which she learned them from. First, Walls took a humorous approach to her life of poverty by saying, “We weren’t poor. We were po’. We couldn’t afford the rest of the word.” After a good laugh from the audience, she continued to speak of isolating shame and facing one’s fears.

Walls never once provoked sympathy from the audience; in fact, she embraced her stories of poverty with optimism. She kept a smile on her face the entire time and spoke approvingly of her underprivileged lifestyle. In her closing statement Walls said, “Embrace your stories, face your demons, and build your own glass castles.” She walked off stage not anticipating a standing ovation. She got one anyway.