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A reflexivity statement is a way to think about how my background shapes my writing. I chose Boston and its fanbase as my artifact because they’ve been such a big part of who I am. Growing up in Boston, sports weren’t just something I watched—they helped raise me and taught me lessons that made me into a better man. While writing, I thought about how my perspective on borderlands history might be different since I don’t have that same connection to it. I started by talking about myself and how being from Boston shapes my values and views. I kept it simple to make my point clearer, and when I recorded myself, I made it sound more casual so it felt like I was just having a conversation. This assignment helped me realize how much my background influences my writing. I’ll definitely use reflexivity statements again to better understand how my identity shapes my work.

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An annotation matrix or letter to a Borderlands writer/scholar is a way to really think about a text and how it connects to your own life. I picked the “Rule Maker” short story from Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Derby because it felt personal to me. Growing up in a broken home, the way Max and Eddy’s relationship developed reminded me of my own experiences and how those tough times helped shape who I am today. For Unit 1, I looked at different texts, marked the parts that stood out, and thought about how they connected to my life. This helped me understand how writers use things like characters and details to share their message. When I researched Benjamin Alire Sáenz, I saw how his own life influenced his writing about family and identity. This assignment made me realize how much my own background affects how I read and understand stories. I’ll definitely use this way of thinking again when I write about themes like growth and identity.

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The purpose of this assignment was to find a location in Arizona that holds value to the Borderlands community and create a story map describing the meaning it has to the community and the history behind said location. For my location, I chose the Grand Canyon because the history really jumped out at me, with the indigenous tribes that inhabit it, or even the trials and tribulations the Grand Canyon has gone through. I conducted my research by going there with my friend Gian, taking in the beauty while also recognizing the history attached to it. I also accessed articles to find out more about the history so I could better understand where I wanted to go with my project. I documented photos and voice recordings of my friend while asking him his honest opinion on the history of the Grand Canyon. to write for an entire audience that can relate and connect with my work, it was an honoring experience because the creation of this piece wasn't just a homework assignment to some people, but a path to their history and what their ancestors did to keep them alive. This project taught me a lot about research and putting together information from different places. Instead of just writing, I used an interactive map to tell the story of the Grand Canyon. Using images and markers was a fresh way to share the story and helped me think outside the box. I’m proud of what I created, and I can see myself doing something like this again if I want to mix storytelling with visuals or make it more interactive.

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To me, the Borderlands are a place where different cultures and stories come together. It’s a space full of both struggle and strength, where people live between worlds and still find ways to connect and keep going. This activity helped me understand what it means to be a Borderlands writer at the University of Arizona. It means writing with heart, listening to others, and being aware of where we are. I also learned that UArizona is a land-grant and Hispanic-serving institution, which makes me think more about the people this school is meant to serve. It’s made me more thoughtful about the stories I tell and why they matter. I chose this discussion post as my artifact just to show how far I have come from the beginning of the year. This was our first ever discussion assignment of the year, and our job was to read the University of Arizona Land Acknowledgment Statement and view a Native Land map of Arizona, then choose a specific area of land that was used by a native group. Once we had chosen, we were tasked with speaking about our thoughts on the group we had selected, answering questions such as, "Did you already know about that/those Indigenous groups? Do you have any knowledge or other connections to these communities?" I didn't enjoy this assignment at first, but looking back, it was the building blocks of my Borderlands education, the start to turning a new leaf in my brain. It opened my eyes to a whole other style of writer, being a voice for others in dire times. Throughout this year, discussion posts like this one showed my the historical complexities that Native Groups have gone through throughout history, and now that I have completed this semester, I have realized that just because I do not relate to the topic at hand or I am not a decensdant of a certain group doesn't mean I can't become a voice for them, reaching new ears to expand the awareness of these issues.