I decided to read Joanne Yoo's autoethnography (2022), in which she shared her personal experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her words resonated with me as I vividly recalled the despair, frustration, and anger I experienced. In Quebec, a 10 p.m. curfew was in place, and only individuals with dogs were permitted to leave their homes. Fortunately, I had the “registered nurse: essential” designation paper and was exempt from the curfew. The toll on my mental health during that time was immense.

As I plunged into Laurel Richardson's (2001) and Joanne Yoo's (2022) articles, I found their writing similar to a personal journal or a captivating blog. Their writing flowed seamlessly, making grasping their insights and experiences easy. I have dabbled in journaling during challenging times and found that it clarified my thoughts and provided a creative outlet for my emotions. Yoo's (2022) statement that "reflexivity is vital for making sense of our isolated existence" echoes deeply with me. It brings to mind C.S. Lewis's quote: “I sat with my anger long enough until she told me her real name was grief.” This quote never fails to send shivers down my spine. In the hustle and bustle of life, it's easy for me to overlook self-care and forget that I, too, deserve nurturing and fulfillment of my needs. Neglecting self-reflection means overlooking a vital aspect of myself that requires healing. Now I appreciate it as "écriture féminine" - the understanding of self (Hélène Cixous).

Richardson, L. (2001). Getting personal: Writing-stories. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 14(1), 33-38.

Yoo, J. (2022). Disruption and silence: Making sense of troubled times through autoethnographic writing. In M. Heath et al. (Eds). Global Feminist Authoethnographies During Covid 19: Displacements and Disruptions, pp. 54-63. 

Text structured differently, a stream of consciousness.

I had lost language: my sword and my shield (Richardson, 2001),

It seems my hand, my fate, my thought process sealed.

Connected through actions, my feelings unleashed,

“Everything was jumbled in my brain” (Richardson, 2001), reminiscent of a desperate caged beast.

Pen on paper, picture in frame,

All this writing difference, bricolage entertained.

Writing was and is how I come to know (Richardson, 2001),

I wrote so I would have a life (Richardson, 2001), battling the ebb and flow.

This perilous journey, creating social meaning, the vibrating hums.

What you write about and how you write it shapes your life, shapes who you become. (Richardson, 2001).

This ritual, discovering myself, teetering on the brink,  

How up-front and personal in-your-face become the ethical questions, the most important of all the questions, I think. (Richardson, 2001).

These feelings raw, unhinged, no longer in captivity,

I scan the scene outside to identify physical features and signs of human activity (Watt, 2013).

What have we done to one another, can we explain this anthology,

Readings of the self and the other can never be simple or innocent because every reader is positioned through language, culture, history, education, [and] ideology (Watt, 2013).

Richardson, L. (2001). Getting personal: Writing-stories. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 14(1), 33-38. PDF Richardson 

Watt, D. (2013). Auto/ethno/graphic bricolage as embodied inter/culturalism: Dis/locating stories of becoming in encounters with the other. Journal of Curriculum Theorizing. Special Issue: Cultivating the Multicultural Imagination, 28(2), 1–19. Watt JCT 2013

References:

Richardson, L. (2001). Getting personal: Writing-stories. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 14(1), 33-38.

J. Yoo (2022). Disruption and silence: Making sense of troubled times through autoethnographic writing. In M. Heath et al. (Eds). Global Feminist Authoethnographies During Covid 19: Displacements and Disruptions, pp. 54-63. 

Richardson, L. (2001). Getting personal: Writing-stories. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 14(1), 33-38.

"People who write are always writing about their lives" (Richardson, 2001, p. 34). Regardless of how objective a piece of writing appears, there is always a personal element to it...I agree with Richardson that no one can write from a purely objective standpoint.... our lives impact our perspectives, what we choose to write about and how we write it. I read Donna Haraway's 2019 article that talked about the different ways we tell stories and why it's important that we consider how we tell them and whose stories they are. These are important questions to consider when we read and write about marginalized peoples in our communities...who is telling the story and who does the story really belong to? Writing someone else's story could lead to further isolation and marginalization for that person/peoples.

Writing holds significant importance, particularly for individuals from marginalized communities, because it serves as a powerful tool for self-expression, identity formation, and social change. Laurel Richardson (2001) highlights how writing allowed her to articulate thoughts that she couldn't verbalize, giving her control over her narrative and a way to understand herself and the world around her. For marginalized individuals, writing provides a means to voice their experiences and perspectives, which are often overlooked or suppressed in mainstream discourse. This process of writing not only helps in recording and revisiting their thoughts but also in piecing together their lived experiences, offering them a certain sense of control.

What might "writing differently" challenge and/or open up?

"Writing differently," as discussed by Richardson, can challenge the conventional norms of academic and literary writing that often silence individual voices and enforce “homogenization”. Traditional writing models require writers to suppress their own voices and adopt an omniscient, impersonal tone, which can stifle creativity and authenticity. Alternative forms of writing, such as personal narratives and reflexive pieces, allow writers to understand their individuality and assert authority over their own understanding of their lives. This approach challenges the cultural scripts that dictate how stories should be told.

How might doing academic writing differently (from the linear, impersonal, third person assumed-to-be-unbiased form) be disruptive/expansive/empowering? For whom? Why?

Doing academic writing differently can be disruptive, expansive, and empowering for both writers and readers. For writers, especially those from marginalized communities, it offers a way to reclaim their narratives and resist entrenched cultural stories. Richardson's concept of "writing-stories" allows writers to explore new plot-lines and discover new aspects of themselves and their world, which can lead to the creation of new lives and identities. Richardson's reflections on writing as a feminist practice illustrate how personal writing can have complex, rich, and unexpected effects, both for the writer and the reader. This process of writing can lead to a deeper connection to others. Thus, breaking away from the linear, impersonal, and assumed-to-be-unbiased form, academic writing can become more inclusive, can reflect diverse experiences, and be open to multiple interpretations. As Diane Watt's exploration of auto/ethno/graphic bricolage suggests, incorporating personal stories and subjective experiences into academic writing exposes the inherent biases and limitations of traditional ethnography. For instance, Watt's experiences in Iran and the personal stories she shares provide a richer, more authentic understanding of intercultural relations than a purely objective account could offer.