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A reflexivity statement is a personal reflection and a connection. The author’s experiences and what they value, and believe. The way people communicate and resonate with each other's meaningful stories.

I chose the pinned place for this artifact because it has a lot to do with my childhood and it also has a part of my identity. The memories I carry around all the time. This place holds a special place in my heart because ever since I was aware of what was going on when I grew up, it was there.I had all the fun, memories, first friendships, cousins, and more.

What I thought about during the drafting of my reflexivity statement is how I will get my idea and writing across.I wanted people to connect with it deeply and to resonate with them. I started off with a short poem, then I talked about the things I value and believe in. After that I talked about the personal stuff, like introducing myself and where I come from, and my identity. I honestly just wanted it to sound genuine so it feels closer to the reader and it can also form a relationship, even if it was just writing. For me writing is not just “writing” like how other people might think of it as. Writing is a part of life for me, it is a part of my day, like an essential. Everywhere I go I must write something because I want my writing to be on every piece of the world. It is something that I grow with and it keeps me at ease. I feel like there is no right time to stop writing, because a real writer would just keep on going, but for me I would say that writing comes from within and ends within. It is something you have to touch with your heart, and feel with your emotions.

When I revised my statement from the first draft to the final version, I focused mainly on clarity and tone. My first draft was more of a rough brainstorm, it had the ideas I wanted to express, but it wasn’t very organized, they were ideas thrown and not very detailed. In the final version I cleaned up the language and the organization of my ideas, made my main points more direct, and tried to be more intentional with my word choice, I also tried making sure the statement sounded confident and thoughtful.

My feelings about this assignment were somewhat mixed. I felt different types of emotions while writing this assignment because writing about myself and my identity in a way people might connect to. At first it was a bit challenging to gather all the material and things I wanted to talk about. While completing this assignment I realized how much I enjoyed it and that writing was not just for educational purposes, it is a way we express our feelings and our identity. I love writing, I think I might write something like this again in my upcoming years in college and also during.

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The University of Arizona, East University Boulevard, Tucson, AZ

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Letter to a Borderlands Writer/Scholar.

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Letter to a Borderlands Writer/Scholar.

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The purpose of the assignment Borderlands Letter is all about making a personal connection with a Borderlands scholar, writer, poet, or creator through their work. You’ll reflect on how their ideas speak to you—whether through similarities or differences—and think about how your identity and experiences shape the way you engage with their message.

I chose the pinned place for this artifact because the UofA means a lot to me. It is where I started my journey and my first year of college, there are many memories and people that I met that could be with me for a lifetime. I also chose it because I wrote a letter to Francisco Cantu, which is the artifact I chose for my 2nd pin. Cantu now works at UofA and that is a part of my journey.

What I thought while writing this letter to Cantu is if I am going to send it to him or not. The way I analyzed and selected text was by first reading Cantu’s story and thinking about how it resonates with me. I then selected some quotes from his story and talked about how they specifically resonate and align with me and my own experiences. I gave him feedback about his story and journey as a whole and how I think about as one of his audiences. This is one way I collected notes for my writing of the letter to Cantu.

While working on this project I learned some things about rhetorical analysis and how writers use it to grab the reader’s attention, like language, author’s background, audience, and purpose of the story and the way the author uses tone. I think this is important because the reader needs to know about the author in some way, that was one of the reasons Cantu’s story The Line Becomes a River resonated with me.

My research process for this project was fun. I enjoyed looking for information while working on this project because not only I was using the material to complete an assignment but also because I was getting to know the author of a story I read and liked, and it also resonated with me. Things I had to find on my own were things like when the story was published, the author’s history, where he was born, his age, background, etc. I used this information, one because I wanted to get to know the author more so I can have more of a connection I would say. This makes me feel close to the story and author and it makes it easier for me to visualize and put myself in the author’s situation as a reader. I also used this information to write a letter to Cantu so I must get the right information about him and his story.

This project really resonated with me and I had a connection with it because there were many great stories and experiences that I felt connected to as well.This impacted my study and understanding of the Borderlands by

I felt really good about this unit, not only was it fun, but I also learned a lot and some things kind of changed the way I feel (in a good way) and think of when I hear the word “Borderlands.” This relates with the rest of my writing because of land. Land is very important and I know some people do not really think of it as anything but once they realize what land really is and the privilege for us to be living on and having the chance to do and feel and live on this land is just amazing.

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Yana Hejazi-Unit 2 Part 3 Digital Story Cover Page   (2)

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Mission Garden, West Mission Lane, Tucson, AZ

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This activity was for students to have fun with their classmates and UA faculty!

Explore one of the oldest communities in the United States: Tucson! It is believed to be the longest continuously inhabited region stretching back for at least 4,000 years.

Practice fieldwork observations and reflections towards our development as a writer.

I chose the pinned place for this artifact because it means a lot to me. I would say that this is a part of my journey and experiences. I learned a lot during this trip when our class went on a field trip to Tucson’s Birthplace. I feel like I discovered a hidden part of me during this trip. I learned more not only about the place we visited but also about the Borderland and the people before us that used to live here and about their stolen land, which I didn’t really know about. To me the Borderlands mean a mother, and a teacher. Land is like our second mother and Border is something we grow up with and it is with us all the time. I feel like this is how I would define the term and Borderlands. It is something beyond what it actually is and what people say it is.

This activity helped me realize and acknowledge the land I’m on. It helped me build an understanding of what it means to be a writer in the “Borderlands.” This helped me when I went on this field trip and when I learned new facts about the place, which I also never been to. I think it is very cool and fascinating to learn about different cultures and Borderland concepts. I learned that the land we are on is owned by other indigenous people and it is stolen land. I really resonated with this information and this place because it shows the people that are in the in-between spaces. In one of my writings in this class I talk about how some people in my country had to leave from their own land and it was not by choice, so this has a deep meaning to me.

I would say that this activity had a deep meaning to me and it strengthened my engagement with Borderlands genres, experiences, etc, because now I know and have an idea about all the other people that might not have the chance to speak up, we as this generation can speak up and have their back. We can change the world in a good way and do good for the society and our community even though we might not be from the same place or country, but we are all from the same land and on one land. We would have the power to change what was changed to what it used to be and better. Borderlands “literacy” is valuable to me as a writer and a learner in academia because the way I see it means understanding and navigating the spaces between different cultures, languages, or identities. It is super valuable to me as a writer because it helps me make characters and stories that are complex and real, reflecting the diverse world we live in. As a learner in this academia it encourages me to be more open-minded and adaptable, and always ready to understand new perspectives.

This activity helped me navigate to the real world we live in. It influenced my sense of identity by looking and hearing all about different cultures and histories. It also helped me adapt faster, since we also worked with our classmates it was fun and easy to connect with. People’s experience helps a lot especially when you can resonate with them. Yes, it helped me consider a purpose in my writing because I thought about everything I have learned and I just wanted to go and tell other people about and teach them because I thought it was cool. I like teaching people about new things. I think it’s cool. They might also not know. Of course my experiences would be different and we would learn something from each one

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Waves of Hope: Testimonio of Surviving the unknown

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Waves of Hope: Testimonio of Surviving the unknown

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Testimonio_ Waves of Hope- Yana Hejazi (3)