I was born into a poor, hardworking family and faced many hardships in my childhood.  My father, who struggled to make ends meet, unknowingly taught me the importance of unity in a community.  I did not only relate with a geographic community, but a racial community, and I even regard the entirety of the human race as one large community, encompassing many seemingly different people.  However, I have realized in my time that many humans share underlying intentions to  form relationships with one another.  Comparing the society of my era with the society of today, I have discovered many contiguities, including the connections constructed between people.  The consistency between eras pleases me greatly as a writer, for I now am reassured that my writings will be considered timeless, providing lessons and insights for the readers' minds.  My works will continue to live in the hearts of all who read them, independent from the time period in which I wrote them.  High school students are able to strongly relate with my themes of equality and heritage, which are prevalent as they must formulate their own political views and as their parents encourage them to honor family traditions, respectively.  The power of literature is to unite the world, unifying time periods and allowing the citizens to realize their commonalities.

In all sincerely,

Alice Walker