Content: Macbook Pro 2020 Notebook Pen Mechanical pencil * 2 Mechanical pencil lead Eraser Pencil bag 7 Dollar worth of change
Great for school and for mom to think I am behaving.
I did not try to create a certain persona. I took what’s in my bag and laid them out on the table. The collection represents a student and that is who I am most of the time. The contents are the bare minimum I need to go to classes. I try to carry as little as possible when I go out to make my life easier. I also usually don’t plan ahead so there will not be an umbrella in my backpack. I think this representation is similar to writing in the way that you have to consider what’s there and what’s not there. Additions and Omissions both tell a story.
-Macbook
-A pen
-Airpods
-History 100 notebook
-Theatre 100 notebook
-Anthropology Seminar notebook
I don’t really have anything special in it—basically what a normal college student would bring to class. First of all, I have a MacBook Air for my daily work on Canvas, and also for my class note in Political Science 111; it’s a very productive tool. I always have my AirPods with me since I like to listen to music when I’m studying or just chilling, and I also put them on when I’m watching videos outside. I carry three notebooks for different classes, and I usually bring them with me so I can review my notes before tests whenever I can. I used to have a pencil case, but I lost it somewhere on campus, so this pen is basically the only one I use now. I’ll sometimes carry a jacket or hoodie if it’s cold, but the weather in Atlanta right now isn’t that cold. I also carry a pack of gum and my wallet, but I don’t usually put them in my bag, so I didn’t include them in the picture.
Here are my essential items that I always carry with me in my bag. My most essential item here is definitely my water bottle, as I constantly manage to forget it, making me realize how much I need it whenever it is missing. I have my school notebooks for class and the narrative “Spinning”, which I read in my free time. I have my glasses and case, which I used to refuse to wear because of how I looked with them on. I also bring around my computer for class and my handy dandy calculator, which I use for my QTM and finance class. Lastly I have my pencils for writing and a glue stick because you’re always gonna need a glue stick at one point or another.
I think this image does not represent me well as a person because based off these items in my bag, a stranger could not get a good idea of who I am other than the fact I am a student and have bad eyesight. I chose to put items together that are in the same pockets in my bag. One challenging aspect of this assignment was taking all of my items out of my bag and putting them back in. I believe if it did represent myself well, then it would be a type of writing because the objects are like individual frames in comics that portray unique messages.
What’s In My Bag?
MacBook Charger, Iphone Charger, 3 Mechanical pencils, 1 Electronic Pencil, Stitches, A Blessing And A Curse, Planner, Calculator, Harmonica, Calculator, MacBook, Saratoga Water Bottle.
I realized I have a lot of school related items in my bag which is expected but I am not sure as to why I have a harmonica in my bag. I think this image is representative of me because it shows the random hobbies I like to pick up. Over the summer I wanted to do many random hobbies such as guitar, harmonica, and even skydiving and this is represented by the straightforward but also random items in my bag. For the design, I wanted to mimic the original image by using a rectangular layout of the items and the hardest part of the assignment was trying to keep the water bottle from rolling and falling off of the table. Lastly, I think this type of writing is valid because it inclines you to think about how items that you carry with you everyday represent or reflect you.
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.
A backpack with Zootopia merch (Officer Clawhauser)
A hand cream
A comic book — Spinning
My ID and key
I think my backpack reflects my daily life as a typical college student. While working on this assignment, I realized that most of the items in my bag are related to chemistry—probably because it’s the subject that currently stresses me out the most, so I tend to carry those materials everywhere. Alongside my academic items, I also included objects that show parts of my personality and interests. For example, I have an Officer Clawhauser keychain from one of my favorite Disney movies, Zootopia, because he reminds me to stay cheerful and positive during busy school days. I also put Breaking Bad stickers on my chemistry folder since it’s one of my favorite shows and ties into the subject—seeing them makes studying feel a little less stressful.
However, I do not think this photo fully represents me as a person because most of what’s in my backpack is school-related rather than personal. I think items like photos, drawings, or posters would show more of who I am outside of academics. The most challenging part of this assignment was figuring out how to connect the objects in my bag to my identity and explain what they say about me.
Items in my bookbag: – Computer – iPad – FIN201 notes packet – Rubber Ducks (FIN201 professor uses these to count participation) – Pen and Pencil – Charger for my iPad and computer – Notebook for notes I need to take in class – Gum
When I first saw this assignment, I found it very confusing as to how this would be able to tell my personality, but that changed. When I started unpacking my bag, I realized how some of these items relate to me and who I am. For example, the gum accurately portrays part of me. I have minor OCD and one of my main symptoms is hating bad breath, therefore the gum easily accessible in my backpack in case I feel like my breath smells bad. The rubber ducks, even though from my professor, represent the fun and “goofy” side of me and how I show that to other people when I get closer to them. The stickers on my computer represent me and the places that I have been, like Emory and Jackson Hole. My charger represents my dependency on my electronics, just like everybody else. My iPad enables me to take handwritten notes, which I like exponentially more than typing because I feel it helps me remember topics when I physically write them down. Finally, I have lots of problems with my hands, especially when I write. The mechanical pencil is a strategy that I came up with when dealing with this problem to teach myself not to press down too hard on the paper and make my hand cramp. I have been using mechanical pencils ever since elementary school because they help me control how I write on the page.
#sk6
A pack of Extra gum, the reason for all the wrappers
Three pieces of Apple technology
Three books, a small fraction of my assigned reading
A notebook for my film class where technology is not allowed
More pens and pencils than I’ll use, maybe once a week
A calculator for my FIN 201 class
The Emory water bottle given to all students at move-in
My house keys, untouched since leaving home
My Emory ID and dorm keys, now part of my daily routine
My wallet
A tube of Aquaphor and an old lip gloss
A few Halls cough drops from when I had the freshman flu
A single Starburst from Wonderful Wednesday
I think what is in my bag represents that average college student. With some aspects of my personality showing through. Specifically, almost every college student has a computer or some piece of technology in their bag, but the only difference with mine is that it’s covered in stickers. I think this illustrates the creative side of my personality. I chose to format the contents of my bag in a neat rectangle format just because I thought it looked best this way. I have so many things in my bag that it makes more sense to spread them all out instead of putting things on top of each other. What was most challenging about this assignment was organizing my items. I kept changing the order of my items until I got what I liked. Personally, I don’t think my bag represents me as a person that much. There are very few personal items in my bag, and I think personal items are a big part of understanding someone, especially when it’s just based on a picture of what’s in their bag.
My bag: Telfar, Macbook, Ipad, Vitamin Water, Tide Pen, Lip care (lip oil, nyx butter gloss, lip liner), Doublemint gum, hand sanitizer, wallet, nose piercing jewelry.
I think this image somewhat captures who I am as a person, most importantly, the bag, which is a Telfar. In New York, specifically, the Bronx and Brooklyn, a Telfar is a commonly used bag by women and although it’s not designer, it’s the first step for many trying to get into fashion. Growing up, my mom didn’t really believe in spending over a certain amount on bags or clothes, so I made it my goal to be able to get those things for myself one day. Over the next few years, I began doing programs that would allow me to get paid and even got a part-time job when I was a junior in high school, in order to not only help my mom but allow me to afford to dress the way I envisioned in my mind. My first purchase was my bag, which highlighted a new era in my life, where I prioritize myself first ALWAYS. The other stuff are small fragments of my life that showcase my education, my self care, and my identity. I didn’t really face any major challenges with this assignment but I would say that this is a great form of writing to represent yourself.
Credit: Success Academy Official WebsiteYoung kindergartner reading a classic childhood book, highlighting the expectation that Success places on young children.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The alarm went off at 6 AM every morning, pulling my mom out of sleep before the sun could fully rise. She would rush into the room, nudging me and my siblings awake, her shouting would slap the grogginess out of our eyes as she reminded us to shower and get dressed. Within an hour, we were lined up by the door, waiting for our turn for her to lather baby oil on each of our faces, and come together in a circle to say our grace before we left our apartment. We then made our daily 10 minute commute by walking to our elementary school: Success Academy Bronx 2. Which is known for being one of the strictest schools in New York City as they pushed for early mastery of every subject, especially reading and writing. Those mornings set the tone for what Success Academy expected of us — discipline, punctuality, and structure. Reading and writing were treated with the same urgency as those early wake-ups: something you had to do with no excuse. At the time, I didn’t think of reading as a way to explore or writing as a way to express myself. Instead it felt like a routine I had to master, just like the schedule of my mornings.
At Success Academy Bronx 2 Elementary, the pressure to master reading and writing showed up in every aspect of the school day. Aside from the daily reading logs and complex writing assignments, the most nerve-wracking experiences were the random reading tests. At any moment during the school day, a teacher would pull you out of class to sit you down in a private room to read aloud. The books were labeled by levels, starting with A and progressing all the way to Z. You had exactly four years, from kindergarten to fourth grade, to reach level Z; otherwise, you couldn’t be promoted to middle school. As a kid, the stakes felt very high, which made my relationship with reading and writing seem more like a chore rather than something to love and enjoy. Reading, at the time, wasn’t seen as something for my curiosity or enjoyment but rather survival in a system that measured your intelligence based on the alphabet. Each test made me aware of how I pronounced words and how fast I read. While it taught me discipline and the importance of practice, it also made reading feel like a race against time, where falling behind meant you were not just failing yourself but also failing to meet the school’s expectations.
My relationship with reading and writing started to shift once I stopped conforming to the expectations placed on me by Success. One of the biggest turning points in how I interrupted words was when I joined a summer debate program. At first, I was scared of speaking and having to argue with strangers but it forced me to research, read and break down articles that would help me build arguments, and write with a purpose that wasn’t about following a rubric. I started to see writing as a way to convince and connect people and not just a way to earn a grade. Later, I joined an Afrobeats dance group that gave me another perspective. Even though dancing isn’t a traditional form of reading and writing, music and dancing taught me that expression could be rhythmic. This same idea of rhythm began to blow in my essays and writing prompts, where I found myself writing with more of a flow, almost like telling a story rather than blatantly answering a question, Even now, in this very essay, I’m structuring my writing like a narrative, beginning with the onomatopoeia of an alarm clock to emphasis my stressful mornings of my Success academy childhood and moving through the stages of how I grew up.
Looking back, my journey with reading and writing has been shaped by discipline, going against the norms set on me, and rhythm. Success Academy was pivotal in my journey and gave me a foundation built on structure and mastery, but it also made literacy feel like a strict routine that everyone had to survive to be successful. Later in middle and high school, I began to see how reading and writing could be more interpretive and creative, not just about hitting a standard. And outside the classroom, with the help of debate and Afrobeats, I discovered that my words could carry rhythm, which has shaped the way I read and write forever.
