After reading the first chapter of the book, it seems that Cisneros’s attempt in putting together this collection of essays is to share her experience, in her own point of view of what the process was like when writing her books. Cisneros was thinking about how she should order her essays, but she settled going about it in chronological order. In chapter one, Cisneros travels to a small island in Greece. It is a popular tourist destination spot, reachable by boat. At first, she came with Ifigenia to live with 2 people on the island, Konstantinos and Embiricos. Later she moved out to live in a stone cottage-like house up in the mountains. This new house of hers called Hydra, seems to be her favorite place to write. Cisnero’s description of the house made it sound very peaceful. “From the upstairs bedroom window you felt you could leap and soar over the town, a geometry of sparkling sugar cubes that tumbled toward the sea” In her Hydra, she was able to write “The House on Mango Street”. The significance of Hydra, not only lies in its serenity but also because of its perfect balance. She had a dream one night about swimming with the dolphins and the water almost seemed so real. She compared this to her living situation in Hydra, it was “somewhere between reality and the imagination”. Cisneros considered living there forever, but it was just unreasonable.

Having a Hydra House of my own would be a dream in New York City. I would envision my “hydra home” to be somewhere remote, but not that far from people. For example, living up in Hollywood Hills, being in the mountains and surrounded by nature, but also simultaneously, I can drive to the nearest Target and get my necessities. I imagine having a patio facing the mountains with the view of the sunset as my Hydra house. The only things I should hear is the birds chirping and water dripping. The best way for me to write and get my creative juices flowing is definitely just peace and quiet. Not necessarily moving to an island in Greece or to the mountains, but the 5th floor of Baruch’s library would be pretty sufficient as well. This would allow me to think without any external distractions. Having a Hydra house would be great for any big projects I’d have to do, anything that requires a lot of concentration, or even in quarantines.