'Domo-nation in Education' by Magaly Huerta by Magaly Huerta

Book Club Letter

1061723_1 — 2023-12-19 18:16:12 UTC

I chose this piece of writing to be in my Portfolio as I believe it shows my strengths in my ability to write. I was able to be very descriptive in my journeys in books throughout the year, and even managed to paint a picture for my book club, so that they could understand my perspective with reading. Something that was especially important to me when I was writing this piece was my love for a book series: 'A Good Girl's Guide to Murder'. I was explaining how this series sparked a flame in my love for books again after many years. This letter truly brought out my passions, and I think it's a great example of who I am.

Personal Essay

1061723_1 — 2023-12-19 18:22:38 UTC

This piece of writing is genuinely one of the best I've ever made, which is why I selected it. This topic, men and their high standards, truly motivated me and always stayed in the back of my mind whilst writing. Not only was I passionate about this topic, but I had my personal experience to write about, which only made me expand my thoughts into a wider range. One of the strengths that I noticed in this piece is my ability to explain things. I feel like this writing assignment had a lot to do with being able to get a message across to readers, which I believe I managed to successfully do.

Interview Project

1061723_1 — 2023-12-20 02:50:03 UTC

This piece of writing is something that I recently did, but I selected it as I think its an amazing story about someone who means a lot to me. It's a story about my dad, which not only helped me to expand on many of my CCW capitals, but it also brought a sense of explanation to readers. I explain throughout this story that my dad has always had a cold demeanor that I always fear, but after asking him questions about his past life really made me think that there's a lot under his surface. I focused this whole story on a horse that he owned, which I use as an example to demonstrate that my dad can be an amazing soul to this he loves, and I embody this in a horse. Something that did trouble me though was having to go off of vague answers my dad gave me about his life, but I eventually accustomed myself to it.

Community and Cultural Wealth - Reflection

1061723_1 — 2023-12-20 03:03:17 UTC

In my CCW capital aspects, I realize that a lot has changed throughout the semester. I feel like my Familial Capital in specific has grown a lot compared to the beginning of the year. The whole description about this capital is about the knowledge nurtured among kin that carry senses of community history and memory. I truly believe that this capital grew for me, especially with the help of my Interview Project, as I decided to interview my dad. Throughout this interview, I realized that my dad isn't just a cold, angry man who likes to stress the importance of hard work. He's worked hard to get where he is now, work has always been something in his life, which is why I now understand his passion for it. With my interview, and interview project, I made the conclusion that my dad can truly open up to those he really cares about. He will become your stronger supporter once he realizes that you're worth it. This semester also grew my Social Capital in a way, since my dad and I don't often have deep conversations. I found his support, and I used it to understand family history and networks of his community. I know so much more about my dad than I knew before, which is why I feel like these capitals grew way more than before. Writing is truly a big passion of mine, and these subjects have truly made my community and cultural wealth a lot bigger this semester. With writing, I've expanded and flourished in so many different ways.

'Burning the Old Year' Poem

1061723_1 — 2024-03-06 18:23:39 UTC

I chose this piece of writing as I genuinely see my strengths in this poem. Some things that I see as strengths in this piece are my extended vocabulary and my personification abilities. Something that was genuinely important to me when I was writing this piece was trying to put out my struggles and memories in a way that made sense. I always kept the idea in the back of my mind that all of these things had to somehow correlate to storms and rain. I think something I had trouble with whilst writing this piece was making the lines golden, something that would leave the reader with a clear, vivid image in their minds. This was honestly troubling, and I still feel like my ending could have been better. Despite this, I really liked making this piece, even if it was heavily referenced off of another, I managed to make it my own.

Two Page Spread #4

1061723_1 — 2024-05-16 17:31:46 UTC

This journal entry was one of my key points in the year if I'm being honest. This was the final one I made for my Book Club book: "Patron Saints of Nothing". The bursts of color and drawing really tie in my creative mindset. With me making this two-page spread as I inched closer to the final pages of the book, my ideas and opinions really illuminated everything. Despite this being about a fictional character (Jay), I found myself relating to him a lot. I mentioned how his own experiences connect to mine, and how sometimes I feel disconnected from my own culture when people question me. The entire story may not be real, but there were many historical events that truly made it feel like more than a fictional story. These two-page spreads really allowed me to express myself in every shape or form. I felt like I could just ramble on about my ideas and feelings about a text with no limits, which is also why I chose this piece.

Literary Analysis Info-graphic

1061723_1 — 2024-05-16 17:54:08 UTC

I selected this piece of writing as I see it as more of a reflection than an info-graphic. Yes, it was meant to be a sort of informative piece, but having to keep so many different factors in mind, it led to more of a 'what have I learned?' piece. With different pieces of vocabulary, metaphors, similes, and takeaways, I had to think back and actually reflect on my learning. Rather than simply picking up and reading a book because I had to, I started thinking about this literature in more of a poetic sense. I had never paid much attention to the symbols and metaphors made in this book until the question was brought up. Even then in the middle of reading, I started to form the idea that the 'zoot suit' was more of just an article of clothing, but rather a symbolic piece of lost culture. It was a suit meant to recreate and draw Mexican-Americans back to their own roots, a way to resist the white man's law.

Identity Book Clubs (Final Essay)

1061723_1 — 2024-05-17 16:52:34 UTC

I selected this piece of writing as I see it as one of my favorite essays I've ever made in this class. A few strengths I see in this piece are strong, golden lines. I loved how I described every theme in this essay, I like to think I made everything sound bold. My introductory paragraph was attention catching, maybe even eye-opening. Personally, this essay was extremely simple to write about, given the themes that I kept in mind. They were themes I constantly noticed, even at the very beginnings of the book, which made it in a way simpler to describe. Something that was extremely important to me while writing this was identity. It was something I constantly struggled with, so writing about this with Jay (Patron of Saints of Nothing) was relatable in a way. With identity in mind, I realized how in depth the word can really get, which is why I hold this essay close to me.

Quote + List of Books

1061723_1 — 2024-05-17 17:07:42 UTC

"I feel like the possibility of all those possibilities being possible is just another possibility that can possibly happen." - Mark Lee

Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow; 7/10, extremely descriptive and sentimental to the point where I felt uncomfortable
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins; 9/10, Katniss' character development is so interesting and I love Peeta.
Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay; 9.5/10, the plot twists were phenomenal, the ending was a bit bland.

Community and Cultural Wealth - Reflection (Semester 2)

1061723_1 — 2024-05-17 17:09:06 UTC

Over the course of this school year in Puente, my school and community experiences have been the main perpetrators of increasing my Community Cultural Wealth models. In the beginning of the school year, my social capital was extremely low. I wasn’t very confident in my social skills with different school networks both inside and outside of Puente. The Dia de los Muertos event at school was something that really tested my social capital. I had to communicate with other students I’d never meet before in order to meet their requirements and needs. I was a face painter, and I ended up staying the whole night. I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity, but the whole night I was doubting my work and skills. Thoughts including, what if they didn’t like the design I gave them? What if they think it's ugly? Despite these thoughts lingering in my head, this event really expanded my connections and support with my peers and community. To this day, I’m still not the strongest person when it comes to communication and expanding my social circle, but it's definitely grown a lot more than when I first started. In the midst of all of this, my Aspirational Capital managed to stay as strong as I figured it would. The maintenance of having hopes and dreams especially whilst facing different setbacks and challenges really tested my limits. Despite the storm, I managed to keep calm. If anything, the guest speaker that was brought into my classroom; Sarah Nelms, truly boosted my confidence. I realized that I didn’t need to always succeed in order to find my place in the world. It would take many different trials and errors in order to find more hope and security in the workforce. I think having such a strong aspirational capital will truly keep me motivated and will help me in the future, even when I feel like all of my hope is lost. Another capital that was further boosted was my Navigational Capital. It was mainly boosted due to my participation in the two field trips I went to, which were college tours of USC and CSULB. Not only did I realize how college is perceived in my mind as scary when in reality, it's not as treacherous as I painted it to be. I managed to rekindle my friendship with one of my greatest friends during my trip to CSULB with one of my best friends as well. The three of us, four including my upperclassmen friends, were kind enough to give us a tour of their campus. With them showing us the campus, I got a different perspective of it, as this was all in their eyes. I knew it wouldn’t be as biased or glorified compared to other experiences. With all of these different events and interactions in mind, I find that my Cultural Wealth Capitals brought me closer to my own emotions and communities. I managed to recognize what I brought from school to my own living experience.

Pachuqismo Play Scene

1061723_1 — 2024-05-17 17:16:10 UTC

I chose this piece of writing as I think it was a fun break from the pieces I'm used to, like essays. Not only was this Pachuquismo scene informative, but it was fun to perform with the two people I talk to the most in this class. My social capital was increased, as I'm not used to performing in front of my peers (outside of theater). I loved how we managed to capture a lesson, and how we made the Pachuca her own character rather than just a lifestyle. She was like an inner voice, telling you the goods and wrongs in life when you personally can't. It was a fun thing to do, and I was smiling the whole time. I personally really enjoyed using my theater creativeness.