This website is an archive of the work I completed as part of ENG101 at Emory University during the Fall 2025 semester. It includes major projects, sketches, and reflection posts that document my writing process over time. Rather than presenting writing as something finished, this portfolio reflects writing as an evolving practice shaped by revision and feedback. The organization of the site allows readers to move between final drafts and earlier stages of thinking, which shows that writing is not a single act but a process that develops through time and reflection.
The project I chose to reflect on is Literacy Narrative, Part 1, an essay that explores how my understanding of reading and writing has changed throughout my life. In this narrative, I focus on my early years at Success Academy Bronx 2, a highly structured and demanding elementary school that emphasized early mastery of reading and writing. At Success Academy, literacy was treated as a measure of discipline and intelligence rather than a tool for exploration or self-expression. I contrast those early experiences with later moments in my life, specifically participation in a summer debate program and involvement in an Afrobeats dance group that helped me reimagine writing as expressive and rhythmic. I chose this project because it best represents a turning point in my relationship with writing and because it required me to think carefully about how personal experience can function rhetorically.
If I were given another month to revise this project, I would not change my thesis. I am very confident in my central claim that my relationship with literacy was initially shaped by pressure and rigid expectations, but later transformed through experiences that allowed for interpretation, creativity, and rhythm. Instead of altering my argument, I would focus on revising how effectively the essay communicates that thesis to readers who may not share my background. My primary goal would be to strengthen the essay’s attention to audience by clarifying context and expanding moments of reflection so that readers unfamiliar with Success Academy can fully understand the significance of those experiences.
One of the strongest sections of my literacy narrative appears at the opening of the essay, where I establish tone and atmosphere through detailed storytelling. I begin with the sound of an alarm clock, describing the early mornings, strict routines, and sense of urgency that defined my childhood. This opening works rhetorically because it puts the reader in my lived experience rather than simply explaining it. The repetition of routine and the physical details of preparation mirror the discipline Success Academy demanded from its students. By connecting these early mornings to how reading and writing were treated with the same urgency, I show how literacy became associated with obligation rather than curiosity. If I were revising this section, I would slow down the reflection that follows the narrative. While the imagery is vivid, I move quickly past its long-term effects. With more time, I would more explicitly analyze how these routines shaped my early beliefs about learning and success, helping readers better understand the emotional and psychological impact of this environment.
Another key moment in the essay occurs when I describe the reading level system used at Success Academy, where books were labeled from A to Z and students were expected to reach the highest level by fourth grade. This passage captures how literacy became a form of measurement and survival rather than enjoyment. By explaining how students were randomly pulled from class to read aloud under pressure, I communicate the fear and anxiety that surrounded reading at such a young age. This section is effective because it presents a concrete system that symbolizes how intelligence was quantified. However, if I were revising the essay, I would deepen my reflection here by making the consequences of this system more explicit. I describe what happened and how it felt, but I could further explore how constant evaluation affected my confidence and willingness to take risks as a reader and writer. Expanding this analysis would strengthen the essay’s impact by showing how institutional expectations shaped my identity over time.
As the essay shifts toward later experiences, particularly debate and Afrobeats dance, I begin to show how my relationship with literacy evolved. Debate introduced me to writing as persuasion rather than compliance, forcing me to research, analyze, and argue with intention rather than simply follow a rubric. Afrobeats dance further expanded my understanding of expression, teaching me that rhythm and flow could exist beyond traditional academic writing. These experiences allowed me to see writing as something dynamic and personal. If I were revising this section, I would clarify these transitions more deliberately, emphasizing how each experience built upon the last. Doing so would help readers follow the progression of my growth more clearly and understand how these moments collectively reshaped my approach to reading and writing.
If I were revising this project for a context beyond first-year writing, I would consider adapting it into a public-facing personal essay focused on education and literacy. Writing for a broader audience would require additional context about Success Academy and a clearer explanation of why this experience matters beyond my individual story. I would also be more intentional about connecting my narrative to larger conversations about educational pressure, early literacy standards, and how institutions define success. This shift in audience would not require changing the core of my story, but it would require more deliberate rhetorical framing.
The biggest challenge in revising this project would be capturing the full complexity of my experience without overwhelming the reader. Because my journey with literacy spans multiple stages of my life, it would be easy to include too much detail or lose narrative focus. To address this challenge, I would approach revision in stages, beginning with a reflection, followed by structural refinement, and ending with sentence-level edits focused on clarity and flow.
Overall, this literacy narrative matters to me because it represents the moment when I began to understand writing as more than a requirement to meet someone else’s expectations. It reflects how I moved from viewing literacy as survival within a rigid system to seeing it as a form of expression shaped by rhythm and personal voice.
Reflection:
This playlist is for anybody that wants to get hype while getting ready to go to a party. I am trying to convey a message of classic party songs that will get you hyped. The main rule I gave myself was to find songs under 4 minutes with a catchy chorus. I chose these songs in particular because I caught myself singing each song in my head and getting hype. Through these songs, I am arguing how uplifting music is.
How was it different to construct an argument that you were giving to the class as a presentation than to write an essay? How did you make choices about the structure of your argument? If you made a choice to organize your presentation in a certain way so that your audience would follow it more clearly, is that something that you could also make use of in your written work? Was your analytical thinking process any different?
It was different to construct an argument that I presented rather than writing an essay because when presenting you need to be able to connect with your audience, while also expressing your idea engagingly and effectively. I made choices about the structure of my argument based on the most effective way I could think of, which includes the main plot of each graphic novel and Judith Lewis Herman’s idea on healing. This is something I can use when writing an essay or prompt because it allows me to stay focused on the purpose of my writing. My analytical thinking process wasn’t any different.
What decisions did you make about the visuals for your presentation? How did you go about creating an impact for the slides that accompany your spoken words?
I wanted there to be no text besides the title of each slide to ensure that the audience is focused on just what I am saying. However, I ensured that the slides were directly related to what i was saying.
What did you learn by giving this type of presentation, where you had no control of the timing of the slides and couldn’t put much in the way of text on your slides, as compared to other presentations you have given? What did you notice about your classmates’ presentations that you might think about incorporating into your own presentations in the future?
I learned that I talk faster when I am actually presenting in comparison to when I am practicing due to anxiety so I saw myself saying my whole point across before the 20 seconds and sitting there waiting till the slides passed. I noticed, in my classmates’ presentations, I found it more engaging when there was no text on the screen rather than when there was.
How has the entire literacy narrative project helped you to meet the Learning Outcomes for this class?
The entire literacy narrative project helped me realize that to create a nice writing piece it’s important to be able to synthesize it, connect it, and design, whether that’s visually or mindfully. The first paper allowed me to connect my ideas using the ABT Thesis style, the second allowed me to design my idea on a graphic scale, and finally, I was able to synthesize both my first essay and it’s graphic version for my final essay form.
How was it to return to the alphabetic literacy narrative after having created your comic? How did you think differently after having worked in the visual medium and now returning to a text narrative?
It was slightly different, in the sense that I had to concise my ideas because I realized I had a lot of filler information. After working in the visual medium and now returning to a text narrative, my focus shifted to consising my ideas. How do you see the story you are trying to tell in different terms now? Was your analytical thinking process any different?
The way I see the story I was trying to tell remains the same and the only change in my thinking process was that I became focused on synthesizing my thoughts.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The alarm clock pierced the quietness of our apartment at 6 AM, dragging my mom out of sleep before the sun rose. Within seconds she was shaking me and my siblings awake, her voice snapping us out of our sleep as she hurried us to shower, get dressed, and gather our things. By 7 AM, the four of us stood in a line by the front door, waiting for our daily swipe of baby oil on the face and our family prayer. Then we walked the ten minutes to Success Academy Bronx 2 — a school known not just for academics, but for its strictness, intensity, and obsession with early mastery, especially in reading and writing.
Those mornings mirrored what Success Academy demanded from its students: discipline, punctuality, and perfection. Reading and writing were treated like non-negotiable duties, not creative or emotional experiences. To me, literacy became just another routine I had to survive.
At Success, the pressure to master reading and writing was an everyday thing. Daily reading logs, complex writing assignments, and — worst of all — the random reading tests. At any moment, a teacher could pull you from class and sit you down with a leveled book. The alphabet became a ranking system: A through Z. You had four years to reach Z, or you wouldn’t be promoted to middle school. Those stakes shaped the way I saw literacy: as a test of worth. Every time I was pulled out for an assessment, I felt like I was being judged not just on pronunciation or fluency, but on whether I was “good enough” for Success Academy’s standards.
Reading became a race, something to conquer quickly so I would not fall behind.
My relationship with reading and writing started to shift when I finally stepped outside of the expectations I grew up knowing. One of the first major shifts happened when I joined a summer debate program. For the first time, reading wasn’t about speed but instead it was about understanding. I had to research, annotate, and break down articles so I could build arguments and prepare for rounds. Writing became purposeful. Instead of following a rubric, I was crafting arguments meant to persuade people. Debate taught me that writing could be a tool, not a performance for teachers, but a way to communicate ideas and make people listen. Another important shift happened when I joined an Afrobeats dance group. Even though dance isn’t reading or writing in the traditional sense, it taught me that expression has rhythm. I began realizing that storytelling didn’t always need words — and that good writing, just like good dancing, has flow.
Looking back, the key experiences that shaped how I read and write are discipline, defiance, and rhythm. Success Academy gave me the discipline — the foundation of practice and routine — but it also made literacy feel rigid and stressful. Debate pushed me to question that rigidity and helped me discover purpose in reading and intention in writing. And Afrobeats taught me that expression has movement, whether through dance or through words on a page.
Together, these experiences transformed my relationship with literacy. Reading is no longer something I do for survival, and writing is no longer something I do to avoid getting something “wrong.” They have become tools for expression — ways to think, communicate, and create meaning.
Conceptual Issue / Question Tracked
For this assignment, I was tracking how my daily energy, focus, mood, sense of purpose, and progress changed throughout the week. I wanted to see whether my mornings or evenings tended to be stronger in certain areas and to identify patterns in my productivity and wellbeing. Overall, I was asking myself: How do my internal states change throughout the day and across the week, and what factors seem to influence them?
Conclusions from the Data
From the data, I noticed clear patterns in my energy and focus levels. Mornings often started stronger, though not consistently, and evenings could be either productive or draining depending on what I had done that day. For example, on days when I had work or social commitments, my mood sometimes improved at night even if my energy was low, reflecting the impact of engagement with others. Conversely, on days when I felt physically unwell or overextended, both energy and progress scores were lower, suggesting that physical wellbeing strongly influences my mental state.
Reflection on Process and Visualization
While gathering the data, I had to make judgment calls about how to rate myself objectively, especially since categories like “purpose” and “progress” depend on how I felt in the moment. Including qualitative notes each day helped me better understand the numbers. My reflections—like mentioning when I had work, hung out with friends, or felt physically drained—gave context to my ratings and revealed connections that the data alone couldn’t show. I chose to visualize the data through daily averages of morning and night scores because it made patterns in my week more visible and allowed me to see how external events shaped my internal states. If I were to continue this project, I’d keep combining both quantitative and qualitative tracking since together they make self-analysis much more meaningful.
Screenshot of my data collection
Link to Beyond Z comic
Creating my literacy narrative as a comic was a completely different experience than just writing a regular essay, and frankly, it was a bit of an adventurous and challenging journey at the same time. Not only did I have to tell my story with fewer words, but I also had to come up with ways of showing it through visuals – how to depict emotions, characters, and significant events in such a way that it would be understandable without giving too much explanation.
I found out very quickly that images can communicate a lot and sometimes even more than words, so I had to be careful in the interchanging of dialogues, narration, and visuals so that the story would be coherent and understandable. In addition, I understood that pacing is also an issue in comics – each frame should smoothly connect with the following one so that the reader can continue the story logically and this made me more aware of the pace of my narrating which I hadn’t before.
Little things like characters’ faces, the gutter, and the style of certain words suddenly became very significant for illustrating my development, hardships, and revelations concerning reading and writing. This assignment made me think about my journey as a reader and writer – the things I have learned, places where I have struggled, and how I have pushed myself to become better – which, in fact, are very closely related to the objectives of the class such as analyzing literacy development, linking personal experience to more substantial ideas about reading and writing, and experimenting with different modes of communication.
I believed that the use of both pictures and words made my narrative more vibrant, and I gradually started to see the connections between my feelings, the manner in which I express myself, and my comprehension, which I might have overlooked if I were just writing a normal essay. Besides, it compelled me to be deliberate with my words because I could not afford to talk excessively – each word had to be of use which in turn made me consider more how to clarify my thoughts effectively. To sum up, this experience of making a comic not only pushed me to think about storytelling differently, it also challenged me to convert my personal stories into something visual and written simultaneously and it gave me a broader view of literacy beyond the traditional reading and writing perception, that is, literacy is the ability to communicate your thoughts and share your ideas creatively.
