Reflection: Which black am I? I'm the black girl with parents who were immigrants fleeing a civil war and doing whatever it took to give the best education for me. Which Black am I? The young black woman who felt so lost growing up and never understood the value knowing her roots till she got older. Which black am I? The suburban black girl who listens pop, rap, and Afro beat music. Which black am I, the girl who cried to God because at a young age she never realized why she was so insecure to have her natural hair out when in reality its this powerful crown of beauty.
Which black am I? The dark skin girl with black eyes, thick thighs, a wide nose, coarse, nappy, wiry negro hair, that can be rocked regardless of it's texture, length, or if there's weave in it. I am the black girl who learned that my definition of black is my own, and it goes the same way for the next black person. My type of black isn't greater or less than any other form, genetic makeup or culture of another black person. I am my own black person, and for the ones like me who felt like they had to seek wisdom from the outside only to find that power, you don't, it's already within.
I had a lot of fun using the Anaphora and being creative with the Anaphora and learning how to use it as a platform to share a bigger idea. This reflection that was included inside of my personal essay and blog entry is a prime example of how I have overall have grown as a writer and how I learned how to tap into the emotions I was feeling with expressing my identity as a a black woman. This portion was from my personal essay.
When people think of ballerinas, they think of these graceful, elegant, and swift dancers that use music and their bodies to evoke certain emotions out of people watching them. But when I think of Michaela DePrince, I think of all of that too, yet I see her like a chinese bamboo tree as well. Michaela DePrince is like a Chinese bamboo tree in which you may not see the prosperity of the tree and growth if you’re not paying close attention, but through time, the proper foundation and hard work is what stretches the strength and growth of the tree and that is Michaela. It takes years for a chinese bamboo tree to finally sprout into the 80 feet wonder that makes it one of the most tallests plants in the world. I commemorate Michaela DePrince in hopes to cultivate and be successful to succeed like her and a Chinese bamboo tree. This was from my commemorative speech that I used in COMS and this shows how much I have also grown in learning how to use literary devices in other areas of writing besides english.
Overall, these are one of many different examples that highlight how I felt towards going outside my comfort zone and polishing up my skills in developing meaningful writing.
I learned and took away a lot of important things in the English 103 course. I learned how to introduce different ideas and make connections between rhetoric and writing. For example, inside the modern day slavery paper using narrative glue, I took away the essence of simplicity with major concepts and introducing them without coming off too strong inside of my writing. The micro-theme gave me freedom yet containment simultaneously. This paper showed me first how to explore an idea and build more off of a concept within a short period of time. I was able to use analysis in a way that was short and concise, yet also powerful and to the point. Through the micro-theme, I realized how I could improve more on my skills of deep analytical thinking within a short span of time.
Furthermore, for the personal essay, audience and genre was a major focus of mine since most of what I was writing about related to my racial and ethnic identity, which is a sensitive and subjective topic that was heavily based off of my personal experiences as a black woman. For my audience, I wanted to make my personal essay inviting, and use it as a way to help readers see through the eyes of myself. The genre I wanted to touch on was a autobiography-like story line that wasn't boring and that kept people wanting to keep up with what I was saying. My target audience was anyone who was willing to step outside their own bubble and try to imagine doing life in my shoes.
Additionally, the exploratory paper, which was the last major writing assignment that we had, helped me build more on my skills on writing with sources and synthesizing different pieces of texts with the main topic in the paper, and for me it was modern day slavery. I tried my best to execute the incorporation of different sources and refraining from making my paper look like it was just extra pieces of writing that was thrown together. Making sure that I am adding more sub themes that connect with the main idea that I have developed inside my exploratory paper also helped a lot with remembering how to properly write with the accompaniment of sources. To say it shortly, the exploratory paper really expanded my understanding on using sources to prove your points or support additional material inside your writing.
I learned and took away a lot of important things in the English 103 course. I learned how to introduce different ideas and make connections between rhetoric and writing. For example, inside the modern day slavery paper using narrative glue, I took away the essence of simplicity with major concepts and introducing them without coming off too strong inside of my writing. The micro-theme gave me freedom yet containment simultaneously. This paper showed me first how to explore an idea and build more off of a concept within a short period of time. I was able to use analysis in a way that was short and concise, yet also powerful and to the point. Through the micro-theme, I realized how I could improve more on my skills of deep analytical thinking within a short span of time.
Furthermore, for the personal essay, audience and genre was a major focus of mine since most of what I was writing about related to my racial and ethnic identity, which is a sensitive and subjective topic that was heavily based off of my personal experiences as a black woman. For my audience, I wanted to make my personal essay inviting, and use it as a way to help readers see through the eyes of myself. The genre I wanted to touch on was a autobiography-like story line that wasn't boring and that kept people wanting to keep up with what I was saying. My target audience was anyone who was willing to step outside their own bubble and try to imagine doing life in my shoes.
Additionally, the exploratory paper, which was the last major writing assignment that we had, helped me build more on my skills on writing with sources and synthesizing different pieces of texts with the main topic in the paper, and for me it was modern day slavery. I tried my best to execute the incorporation of different sources and refraining from making my paper look like it was just extra pieces of writing that was thrown together. Making sure that I am adding more sub themes that connect with the main idea that I have developed inside my exploratory paper also helped a lot with remembering how to properly write with the accompaniment of sources. To say it shortly, the exploratory paper really expanded my understanding on using sources to prove your points or support additional material inside your writing.
