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In the experiment “A Pattern-Making Impulse” I wrote about freedom and used specific details to connect words from my personal universe deck with the abstract concept of freedom. For example “Freedom is a balloon gently floating away in the wind

Freedom is pulling back the curtains on a sunny morning

Freedom is an earl grey donut I bought from a cafe nearby”

Each of these lines has detail that expands beyond just the nouns “balloon, curtain, donut” to curate a specific sentiment of gentleness such as specifying a sunny morning and that the cafe is a cozy local spot.

Then, in the ekphrasis activity, I wrote from the perspective of a banana in a painting. For this example, there was not much detail in the photo to draw on which meant I had to add detail by drawing from my imagination. In this practice, I wrote “All I see are the tiny ants scattered around making their way towards me as I lay here and rot.“ Adding in the detail about ants is something I picked up from careful observation and understood as something small that creates a strong emotional feeling of a deserted land taken over by nature.

Finally, I found that slow looking built the foundation for other careful observation practices such as deep listening. I noted that as I sat in the public space, I heard a lot of things I hadn’t thought to pick up and point out previously. An example is when I mentioned “Chairs scraping, friends laughing and gossiping, keyboards clacking and more. I began to notice the smaller aspects of the restaurants in the building, from the milk steamer at Starbucks to the signature smell of Subway bread.” While these are all basic everyday sounds, they are easily overlooked in the same way many visual details were prior to having practiced slow looking.

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I feel that these practices of attention have made me more aware of others’ lives around me. Deep listening helped me pay attention to the details of what was happening around me and a lot of this included simply observing as people around me went about their daily lives. Ekphrasis had me look through the lens of something that was not myself which helped me imagine and understand how others might view the world based on their own situation. To train my attention, I feel that journaling would be a helpful practice. I believe that there is something new to learn from every experience and person you encounter so an activity I would conduct is to reflect in my journal at the end of the day and write down 3 details I noticed or learned about someone or something in the day. Whether it was learning how much sugar a friend likes in their tea or learning a new finance concept, I feel that this type of practice will help me make an active effort to pay attention to smaller details as well as work on recalling these details so that they do not just pass me by.

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Slow looking was the most impactful on my understanding of poem-making. I could never understand when I read poems how writers were able to pick tiny details and expand on them in the beautiful way they do. With this activity, I started noticing those poetic moments that go beyond just describing an emotion. On a personal level, this practice gave me the chance to look at my surroundings and my camera roll memories to pull out the beauty and nuances that make them poetic. I feel that this overall just made me realize that there are so many aspects to my life I am quick to look over however they just require a bit of attention to be noticed and appreciated.

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I smell dirt that reminds me of the time I spent growing on a tree in my tropical environment. I hear emptiness, it sounds grey and dull. Any noise I make echoes back and my own thoughts are all that exist with me. This is nothing like the lush lands I grew up in full of life and green in both sight and feel.

I sit leftover on an empty floor, an abandoned room. The terrain is rough and worn out. All I see are the tiny ants scattered around making their way towards me as I lay here and rot.

The people who stayed here left a long time ago, seeming to be in a hurry. I wonder what could've been so urgent that they didn't even realize I was left here. I bet I would've been helpful wherever they are.

I dreamt last night that they hadn't left me here. That I wasn't ripped from the bunch and left to brown. Instead I lived an exciting and adventurous life, I dreamt of staying in a fruit bowl! A land full of diverse fruit to meet those who come from lands all across the world!

Unfortunately there's no signs of anyone coming here to move me anytime soon. That dream will just have to remain a fantasy for now, even though I secretly always wanted to meet an apple. I guess instead I'll just sit here and enjoy the cool breeze coming through the broken window until the ants pick up what's left of me.

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The artwork uses very bold and solid colours
My room is messy

The colours are bright
It is a dark night outside

She wears yellow
I wear blue

Her ear is denim coloured
I wish I wore more jewelry

She is not smiling
I like the song that is currently playing

Red eyes stand out in this painting
I haven't slept in over 24 hours

It is hard to know what she is thinking
It is hard to understand what I am feeling

Her heart is falling out her mouth
My heart is guarded behind my ribs

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Between the three, I found the public setting the most challenging to simply listen as I tend to become swept up in my own conversations and hectic life. The natural environment on the other hand provides me with the perfect place to take a breath and appreciate beauty in the magnificence rather than try to search for it in the mundane day-to-day of domestic and public spaces, though I believe that is a challenge everyone should face regardless.

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Visiting the beach was a beautiful and much needed break from my packed schedule and the non-stop ambitious university environment. Taking a moment to absorb my surroundings was a nice change of pace. I realized that once you really listen, you can actually hear many of the details around you even in a big open space. The sound of the waves crashing is much more audible when there isn't a huge crowd to distract you and the wind sings as it flows instead of just passing by you.

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I visited a friend’s house and we spent a fair amount of time studying quietly in parallel. This friend of mine has two beautiful cats who I feel really transform the place into a cozy home for a happy family. As the two of them play around the house, you hear the patter of their little paws hitting the floor and the slight jingling of the tiny bells on their collars. The fridge hums and the TV runs episodes of shows we’ve both seen countless times as comforting background noise to add to the ambiance.

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In a public location, I find that chatter is the main thing you hear. As the space becomes busier and busier, everything turns almost to TV static. Focusing in on deeply listening unlocks the smaller details and I really began to hear what I think of as the sounds of normalcy and everyday life. Chairs scraping, friends laughing and gossiping, keyboards clacking and more. I began to notice the smaller aspects of the restaurants in the building, from the milk steamer at Starbucks to the signature smell of Subway bread.

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other things i'm finding poetic: my growing collection of somewhat blurry pictures from "The Obligatory Post-Midterm/Final Celebration Ice Cream", a new tradition amongst my friend group

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other things i'm finding poetic: my growing collection of somewhat blurry pictures from "The Obligatory Post-Midterm/Final Celebration Ice Cream", a new tradition amongst my friend group

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combining words -> my piece for experiment #2: a pattern-making impulse

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combining words -> my piece for experiment #2: a pattern-making impulse

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Freedom is the juicebox found in my bag

Freedom is crumpling up a receipt

Freedom is the sand I used to play in with my friends

Freedom is a tiny kitten pawing at my feet

Freedom is my untied shoelaces

Freedom is drawing a smiley face on a little pumpkin

Freedom is a balloon gently floating away in the wind

Freedom is pulling back the curtains on a sunny morning

Freedom is an earl grey donut I bought from a cafe nearby

Freedom is putting tinsel up around my house

Freedom is soft candlelight brightening the room

Freedom is my plane ticket home

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I just love the colour explosion and chaotic feeling of gathering these words on my usually orderly desk.

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Since I moved away from home, I realized that there is a unique level of comfort and understanding between me and my sister that can’t compare to any friendship. Funnily enough it was a TikTok of a compilation of quotes, artworks, and poems about sisters that sent me down the rabbit hole of poems with this topic. Something about the structure of this poem and the way it simultaneously feels specific and vague really stuck with me.

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gathering materials to make my personal universe deck

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gathering materials to make my personal universe deck

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I chose to use a big variety of glittery gel pens for this task, I never get an opportunity to make use of them and I truly feel that they reflect my fun-loving personality and optimistic viewpoint about the world around me so they were the obvious choice here

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This photo was taken on the very last day of the second term of my first year in university. It was a difficult year for me trying to adjust to the new lifestyle of university but also having left behind all of my friends in Toronto. When I look back, the day this picture was taken was one of the best days I had that year, despite it sadly being the end of that era. I can hear the laughter from my new friends that I was growing more and more comfortable around. I can still remember the sunlight of that day, something that I really learned to value in this city where it rains all the time. With nothing else to worry about, everyone in that room was just having a good time playing billiards, chatting and teasing each other. For some reason my friend's hat (photo included next to this post) is a detail that still sticks out in my memories of that afternoon. It was bright and colourful just like the energy in that room. Though it was the last of our monumental year together, the knowledge that summer was just around the corner only brought feelings of new beginnings, rather than a bitter end.

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Coincidentally as I was browsing through my photo album to see if I had any childhood photos, my cousins messaged our group chat with several pictures from our many adventures and get-togethers in our younger years. In this photo, I stand excitedly with my sister (standing in the middle in the picture) and my cousin (standing left in the picture) at the top of a big pile of snow in the parking lot of the grocery store near my childhood home. While I remember this day vividly, I honestly didn’t even remember that we had pictures from it. It was cold and dark but in my mind I still feel how the streetlights glowed and the snow glittered. I am reminded of all the times I spent with my cousins who are in the picture. I have a very large extended family but this particular cousinand her siblings were always some of the most imporant figures in my life, both as elders and like friends. Their father (my uncle) passed away when they were only teenagers and I was a child. Of our extensive family tree, my father was always the closest with that particular uncle so it was a given that he took these kids under his care. Looking back at these photos makes me think of all the time that has passed. While my cousin was only around 17 in this picture, she is now married with 4 kids of her own. To me, she is still one the people I spent Eid celebrations with, had sleepovers with every few weeks, went on picnics and walks with. All of these memories came flooding back to me once this photo was brought back into my life.

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a silly picture of myself in first year in the sauder student lounge

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a silly picture of myself in first year in the sauder student lounge

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trying to gather photos from my childhood for this practice of attention

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trying to gather photos from my childhood for this practice of attention

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climbing a mountain of snow in my hometown

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climbing a mountain of snow in my hometown

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A little worn out but still fuzzy looking, this beaver toy has been with me for a decade now. My brother got it for me when he got into university but now he's long finished and enough years have passed that I am the one in university instead. It makes me think of the unstoppable force that is time.

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The cat pictured on this mug is giving major attitude but in a way I personally wouldn't say reflects my own personality. This mug was a gift from a cousin when I was moving away for university so I find it interesting to see that this is how others perceive me. They're definitely right about me loving cats at least.

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a mug with a drawing of a cat saying "i do what i want"

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a mug with a drawing of a cat saying "i do what i want"

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A collection of olive oil bottles. Whenever I enter the kitchen I think jokingly "Wow, sure is olive oil city over here!" I think one's kitchen gives a big window into their personality as each person has their own way of organizing this place and their own pantry staples. Clearly, olive oil is an important staple at my house.

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In another attempt to make our house a home, my roommate added this lovely string of lights to our entryway. The soft glow of the light catches your eyes until you notice that they aren't just normal lights but rather are tiny snowmen! I also think it is worth noting the stylistic choice for the snowmen to wear pointy hats rather than a top hat, something I personally wouldn't have gone with.

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A cute and reassuring smile. A warm and friendly shade of orange, much less harsh than the bright orange of a real pumpkin. My roommate chose to add the tiny hat on top to make it festive for the winter holiday season and I feel that this small touch adds so much warmth to an already adorable item.

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part 1

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objects I find poetic

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Cows have one of the most iconic black and white patterns, the red and yellow of the condiment bottles are a stark contrast and make anyone who I’ve shown this photo to go “HUH??” when they realize the purpose of the udders. While the thought of milking a cow for ketchup or mustard makes me uncomfortable (it’s just so weird!) I have to commend whoever came up with such a quirky and themed take on such a mundane part of the restaurant process.

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I found this sticker in a study room. While I find these little characters cute, I'm not entirely sure what their origin is I do vaguely remember having heard of "A Thinking Ape". The colours and stylistic design of the 8-bit characters leads me to believe these are video game related. I think this sticker is poetic in many ways. It makes me wonder, what is this sticker about? How did the person who put it there get it? What made them decide to put it in a study room? How long has it been there?

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At first glance, this collection is overwhelming and chaotic. Each piece is vying for your attention, trying its best to stand out among the others. There is no order to the arrangement and no central focus. Still, everyone who visits my family tries to spot any new additions and ask about our travels. In the end, only we really know the full story. Others can only attempt to piece it together from what we choose to display

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There is something so poetic about the way we share the things we love with those around us. The day Spotify Wrapped is released is always filled with fun and everyone I know posts their personal stats on social media in the colour scheme of their choosing. There is something so intimate about the excitement my friends share in discussing their top artists, genres, and the obscene amount of time we spend listening to music.

...then there's always that one friend who uses Apple Music

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My siblings and I have an annual "Siblings Hangout" where we do something fun and new. One time, we went to visit the Art Gallery of Ontario and slapped on the back door of a small and run-down restaurant, there was a barely visible sign that says "Him Tortons". The actual building was not even a Tim Hortons which only left me more curious. I have yet to solve the mystery but I find this nondescript detail in the big chaotic city to be poetic.

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visuals that I find poetic

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part 2