In this assignment, I took content out of an article that helps assist me in my larger project. After finding an article on Old Main, the location of where I thought I was going to do my project (I ended up changing it to repetition in the first one). I furthered my research by taking out specific context. In the article, it discusses the history of Old Main. For instance, I used my close reading to find out that Old Main used to be an old Navy base. Rhetorically, I thought of how this is significant to our school’s history, but also a larger audience of the United States. Additionally, something I found especially interesting was the myth behind building Old Main.  In my close reading I came across that when construction workers were building they found their boss murdered on the site. It was assumed to be done by the Natives and goes into further thought about how my location of Old Main impacts those who were here before and explains more of why there is tension in the history. In my future writing and overall goals, I liked taking context out of articles or my research and looking into a deeper thought for my projects. I think this is helpful because I can always go back and reference my thoughts. In order for me to avoid missing the overall purpose of my writing, having a neat outline and context paper can be fundamentally beneficial.

I enjoyed reading others' work because it showed the difference and uniqueness between all of us in the class. It also helped inspire me for my work. For instance, I reviewed a peer who was on the baseball team. He put in comedy and pictures of things that were meaningful to him. I wanted to do this by adding a photo of my hall bulletin board or the artwork on my door. I think receiving the feedback I got was also incredibly helpful. At first I thought about going in a different way of conveying a message. HOwever, my peer soon made me realize I was not making much sense and had me alter the message I was trying to convey. I ended up liking it a lot more. I was surprisingly pleased with my final draft. I am not someone who usually goes through an artistic creative way to express myself. However, after documenting a place that means something to me and then creating a work where people were able to see a glimpse into my life was something I thought was impactful. My revision ending up begin different than I thought I would be doing, but ended up helping me in the long term in making a more impactful fotonovela. For future workshops and/or revision situations I plan to ask more detailed questions and have a more concise idea of where I plan to further my project. Although I made a significant change, I would still like to feel more productive in my projects so I can get more out of them when being revised. Or I may go in person because I like to have face to face communication, especially when I am confused. 

When I first came to this school I knew absolutely no one and had no idea what to do next. I walked around aimlessly and awkwardly tried to make friends. For a while, I was struggling. I felt alone. It took me about two to three weeks to make friends, but since then I have been able to overcome so many challenges. School itself has been a challenge. 

Fast paced classes where I did not have my mom to nag me was a new challenge I did not realize I had. I found myself feeling like I was at a long summer camp and forgetting that I was here for school. I forgot about the privilege I was given.I spent a lot of my time focusing on the wrong things. However, I was lucky enough to realize the reasons as to why I was there in the first place. To learn. To experience a new chapter. And to build myself a future that I want. Which leads to my overall challenge I have been working on. 

In all honesty, when I started writing this I did not know how I had been really challenged. Yes I have been sick, yes I got some bad grades, but overall those have not really altered my life in significant ways. What is a challenge that I have and am still working on is making decisions based on my life and not out of fear of others' pressure. Going to UofA gave me the privilege to realize that I am in charge of my own life and that I need to make choices on what makes me happy, not on what others think. Since I have recognized my struggles and started making progress toward my goal I have seen myself grow in many ways. When I first started taking LATINX ENGL 102 I was still at a very surface level of understanding what I needed to work on in life. One of the first writings we were given in the class talked about our purposes and wants in life. Reading the preface of “Belonging: A Culture of Place,” helped me start thinking about what I want in life. I realized I make my own life, not someone else's. Since then I have really reflected on the part the writer uses a list of demands, “I need to live where I can walk. I need to be able to walk to work, to the store, to a place where I can sit and drink tea and fellowship,” (Hooks). Being able to make your own choices is important along with knowing what you want. The preface has inspired me to put this into my personal writing. From writing out my goals and dreams I not only have grown in my personal life, but my writing ability. However, the class assisted me more in my personal journey in other ways as well. In my assignments, I use narrative writing. After reading a reedsy blog I was able to improve my writing by adding a narrative arc that keeps readers engaged from start to finish (What is a Narrative Arc?). After learning how to successfully create a series of events and climax in my writing I have found myself creating more narrative writing that kids readers are interested in as well as conveying my message across. Although this course was not always the traditional writing of an essay, my literature composition skills improved dramatically and now can successfully express what audience I intend my writing to be for and the purpose. This is a big step for me and see myself being able to put it to use in the future. Just like the class, the world is not a traditional paper. There are situations where you need to understand the purpose, audience, and context. Like at the end of the class we completed survival playlists. Making  a playlist involves rhetorical thinking without even noticing it (survival playlist). This final assignment gave me a huge realization that even though I may be done with English courses I will always be using the skills I learned in my classes. At the beginning of the course I did not see a purpose to English, let people walk over me, and was overall still figuring out the whole college thing. Now I see literature is everywhere, I have been making my own choices, and am starting to get down this college girl life. I still have a long journey in all of these areas, however, I personally have seen a lot of growth within me and it is something I am proud of.