The thing that caught my attention the most about this reading of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass was the fact that the workers under Auld were not given enough food to survive. The pure evil and disregard for humanity that Auld displayed towards his slaves was inhumane. Douglass did, however, get to work with his sister, Eliza, and his aunt. Douglass describes having to steal food to keep him and his family members alive. This was a hard pill to swallow when reading, because I have never had to wonder where my next meal was going to come from. Up until this point, Douglass has been through a lot of traumatic events even starting as an infant. What occurred to me overall when reading is how thankful I am. I am thankful to live in a house with both of my parents and my sisters, to know my birthday, knowing I will be able to eat, and not have to worry about getting hurt by those around me. I have access to an education and as much as I say I don't like school, at the end of the day, I am forever grateful for my education and for all the blessings I am given in life. Douglass talks about how he was able to read, and how this was a rarity for slaves and black people in general. Nowadays, it is a rarity for someone to not know how to read; it is a norm for people to be able to read. This was another concept that was also very strange to me. 

    Mental health is something that is so apparent in today's society, and is often a priority in people's lives. When Douglass was living through these events, it was not. This is another concept that was hard for me to fathom, especially when he says, "I found myself regretting my own existence, and wishing myself dead; and but for  the hope of being free, I have no doubt but that I should have killed myself, or done something for which I should have been killed," (Douglass 24). This is heart breaking to me, as I believe that mental health is just as important as your physical health. To see that Douglass made it without any of the resources we have to support our mental health today, says a lot about perseverance.