I gew up in a very interesting environment because although I lived in a relatively large, metropolitan area my house was in a more rural section of the city. I went to a very racially diverse high school, but at the same time grew up surrounded by a predominantly white farming community. I think this experience allowed me to have a dual social lens that I sometimes use when I read literature. I think because of my background with a variety of different people when I read literature I respond more positively to books that address and deal openly with issues of difference with race, religion or sexual preference. My parents always encouraged me to be accepting of others and value their differences. I think this has led me to seek out literature that also values uniqueness and individuality within its characters. If I could describe this lens I think I could most accurately call it "my social diversity lens." One of the books that impacted me the most and in which I know that this lens affected my reading of the novel was Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. This was a difficult book for me to read because of the feelings of anger that I felt for Anne's situation based soley on her religion.