In my writing, I discussed how despite both writers of “Stitches” and “Spinning” diving into their complex emotions through unique angling, each author reacted differently to them which gave a deeper insight into who the authors are and how that has shaped the writing of their book. In “Spinning” David can be seen going through a turmoil of emotions but eventually accepting those emotions, which is shown through the growth seen in his narrative. In “Spinning” Tillie also goes through major emotions, but her actions of numbing her emotions show her lack of full emotional healing, which crafts the narrative as still unfinished or not fully healed.
Tracing and annotating two pages from the books was a new experience for me since I am not used to annotating panels or even just visual items so intently. The actual tracing process was rather simple since it didn’t require many artistic skills, but the annotating, after getting the hang of it, helped me understand the page I chose thoroughly because I was looking at my details. These details, whether big or small, offered a unique perspective as to what the author was trying to convey with that specific choice. Overall, by both tracing and annotating these pages, I was able to see that the visual aspect of the page served of equal importance to understanding what the authors were trying to communicate.
Since I had to write my ABT thesis at the end, instead of in the beginning like I’m used to, I had to make some slight adjustments to my overall writing process. Instead of already knowing what my bigger picture is, I let my ideas and claims slowly develop and grow off of each other. This helped me develop a solid thesis since all three paragraphs naturally showed the deeper meaning.
I feel that this assignment helped me get closer to this secret language since it made me switch up my methods of writing and developing ideas. This switch in my overall writing process allowed me to understand the two author’s message at a deeper level since I wasn’t only looking at their verbal choices but their visual and artistic choices as well. Prior to finishing these books, I knew that the author of “Stitches” was writing his book as an older adult and Tillie was writing hers as a younger adult, but after analyzing these pages, it can be seen that their different stages in life affected how they wrote their narratives. David finishes off his book with a sense of reflection and having finally healed, which aligns with the fact that he now is a full adult living his own life. Tillie finishes off her narrative with putting herself first for the first time, which shows that she is growing but not necessarily fully emotionally healed which aligns with the fact that she is writing this narrative at a young age when these memories are still fresh.
Analysis: https://classysweets2dd119bde5-msqzr.wordpress.com/2025/10/18/healing-in-panels/
Prompt:https://engrd101f25.davidmorgen.org/assignments/tracing-pages/
When crafting this image I reflected on how little I carry around with me besides what’s necessary. When looking at examples on “The Verge” I saw that a majority of people carried a lot more items than I did, like multiple highlighters or other writing tools, post it notes, multiple folders/notebooks, and more. Now looking back at this image I see that it reflects how much more minimalistic I am when it comes to what I need to carry around with me. In terms of the photos layout, I decided to place the smaller items on the right side and bigger ones on the left so the bigger items don’t take up all the space. I also decided to write down what each item is and how I use it along with brackets for each text bubble. The only challenge I faced when doing this assignment was that the table I used was not big enough to fit my bag that keeps all these items, so I could not put it into the photo. Representing myself in a catalog of the stuff in my bag is a type of writing because a story can be told based on these specific and curated items about who I am. Even though it doesn’t give an in depth story of who I am, any person could still read this image and take away that I am a college student at Emory University.
When doing this assignment, the biggest challenge I faced was thinking of what I could make that could be replicated more than 3 times and still tell a story. Another struggle I faced was the making of the image itself because I have limited experience with digital drawing. Despite having limited experience, I still choose to go forward with making this digitally because I feel it would add more to the story since I can add detailed backgrounds and objects into the drawing. I decided to set this story at a school and show how miscommunication can be spread very easily. Crafting this comic strip is different from other writing I’ve done this semester because it is very repetitive. In writing I try my best to not repeat phrases or ideas because it can get redundant, but in this strip I did the exact opposite. Despite the strip being mostly repeated actions, a story was still able to be seen.
When coming up with an idea for this assignment, I struggled with what two images I could convert and how they would be related to each other. I looked at examples of Stephen Mcmennamy for inspiration but because there was a variety of unique images, I was still unsure of what I would use. After deliberating on this for a while I came up with the idea of putting together an image of an exhaust of a vehicle and an oil spill in the ocean. I decided to put these two images together because both topics are connected with harming the environment since car fumes are a high contributor to climate change and oil spills contaminate and harm wildlife in the ocean. I decided to connect these two things by using the exhaust of a vehicle as a representation of an oil pipeline. This then connects to the image of the ocean because pipelines are known to pollute the ocean with oil, which in turn harms the surrounding wildlife. While making this image, I struggled with finding images of these two topics that would visually transition both images well. Despite this issue, I feel my image still conveys both topics effectively by comparing vehicles effect on climate change and oil spills effect on wildlife.
Photo Credits: Stanford Advanced Materials, Rear end of car exhaust, https://7cad390533514c32acc8-75d23ce06fcfaf780446d85d50c33f7b.ssl.cf6.rackcdn.com/sc/1686292424-normal-lutetium-oxide-catalysts-for-automobile-exhaust.jpg
Pngtree, animated sea view filled with trash, https://media.istockphoto.com/id/1171343181/vector/pollution-plastic-garbage-in-underwater.jpg?s=612×612&w=0&k=20&c=BjRQtLMX5NV5p6v93oWH_0gFglyV3UeGNkbjoBM9MBU=
In the process of making this visual note drawing, I began looking at my sociology class in a new light. When I was taking notes in this specific class, I was writing a variety of information in random order. Since I was given a good deal of information in one sitting, I was only able to take in a small amount of what I was listening to. However, when I looked back on the physical notes I took, I began looking at the information from a chronological perspective. Instead of looking at the information in a jumbled form, the information started falling into place from step 1 to 6. After drawing out my notes, I could better understand what I had written down because I could see it visually. Now looking at my visual notes and how its helped me understand my physical ones, I see that I learn best when I visualize the information. During this process of visualizing my notes and drawing onto paper, I not only took in the information in a whole new way, but i also got to explore my creativity skills.
Assignment link:https://engrd101f25.davidmorgen.org/sketches/sketch-3-visual-note-taking/
Beginning this narrative, I decided to structure my writing to follow a timeline from childhood to now. By setting up my free writing this way, I was able to tell my story without the pressure of having to have five paragraphs with an introduction and conclusion. At first, writing this narrative felt strange since I was not following the standard essay structure but instead writing and structuring my story based on what felt right. I wrote in a way I felt flowed best and effectively answered the prompts question. As I was writing, I began looking at my different experiences with reading and writing as being more impactful than I initially thought. Since I entered school with no understanding of English, all the effort it took to finally get my reading and writing skills to what they are today made me value these skills greatly. Not wanting all my time and effort to go to waste, I have used these skills to read and educate myself on important topics and then write about them so others can learn as well.
Post link: https://classysweets2dd119bde5-msqzr.wordpress.com/2025/09/09/22/
My first day of school, like many others, began with crying for my parents who left me in a strange place surrounded by other crying children. Over time, however, I and all the other crying children eventually caught on to why we were here. We had just begun our educational journey of learning many crucial skills that we would need for the rest of our social and academic lives. Out of all of those skills we would soon develop, the most important were reading and writing. Once these skills were developed, they would be used for the rest of our lives, whether it be to read the morning newspaper or to write our name at the top of an assignment.
At the beginning of my educational journey, the path to developing my reading and writing skills was not the smoothest. I entered kindergarten with no background experience nor knowledge of the English language. Having only ever spoken Spanish up to that point, I knew I would have to put in double the effort to develop these crucial skills. For most of my kindergarten year, I would practice speaking English to friends and family until I eventually got it down. After that I spent the next couple years of my elementary school learning how to read and write English. I was put down for every and any tutoring session taking place at my elementary school so I could have the maximum amount of support. Along with the frequent tutoring sessions, I was put in English as Second Language(ESL) classes where I was given extra support. As time passed, so did my comprehension of these skills grow, until eventually I was able to read and write just like my peers. Since I had to put in double the time and effort to learn a skill that came much easier to them, it created a sense of pride in my childlike mind. Despite having come into school greatly behind compared to other students, I had put in time and occasional tears of annoyance to have these fundamental skills I knew I could rely on for the rest of my life.
“Reading” by JasonUnbound, April 7th 2011, https://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonunbound/
Entering middle and high school, I held a sense of confidence and eagerness to put my reading and writing to use and expand them even more. As time passed, these skills were definitely put to the test. No longer was I reading picture books that consisted of a handful of words. Now I was diving into pictureless books that held what felt like obscure and complex meanings. I was expected to read passages that held meanings I couldn’t decipher and worse to write essays about that meaning. That once giddy and eager feeling that I associated with reading and writing was long gone. Now I was being presented with daily passages that felt indecipherable and a major hassle. Even so, I knew I could navigate through this new style of reading and writing with the right amount of commitment. I pushed my writing skills by digging deeper and picking out what the author of these passages was truly trying to say. After repeated effort, my reading skills developed a new perspective towards these passages. I now saw these words and stories as windows to different unseen perspectives. My understanding of what my reading and writing skills offered expanded from only being used to read or write children’s tales to articles discussing real world issues and passages that brought upon deep complex thoughts. Now I could use my skills of reading to deepen my own knowledge of real life situations. Even more, I could now use my writing skills to project my own thoughts and ideas of what I’ve read and express myself in a new productive way.
Now having a good amount of exposure to both fictional entertainment based stories and complex forms of writing crafted by researchers or poets, I use my reading and writing abilities to their fullest potential. In today’s age, where changes are happening all around us, I make sure to read and keep up with these complex changes and use my writing ability to voice these complex topics in hopes of educating those around me. The effort it took to develop the skills I have today has fueled my passion to use them to their best potential by reading relevant passages that allude to modern day issues. Through my comprehension of these topics, I not only educate myself but also those around me through my ability to express myself through writing. While my writing isn’t as complex or revolutionary as passages I’ve read, I use my ability of expression to share what I’ve learned of world history and matters to share and educate those who don’t use their reading skills to empower themselves.
