Welcome to my Portfolio! I am Carol Nguyen and would like to share some of my experiences throughout this English 114 course. But first I would like to tell you a little bit about myself. I am nineteen years old and this is my first year at CSUN. I am full Vietnamese and love to play volleyball. I am not a huge fan of writing, but I do try my best and have really improved throughout this past year. Following this I have included three essays that I have put together throughout the past semester, Project Text, Project Space, and Project Web. Project Text is based upon one of our reading assignments of the book Persepolis. Project Space focuses on how the space and location that we reside can be affected by our actions. And finally Project Web is a about my complete journey of my writing experiences. I hope you enjoy!
Project Text The Wise, Young Marjane
In Marjane
Satrapi’s memoir, Persepolis, Marji,
with all her experiences and family impact, matures much quicker that any other
child at her age. During this evolutionary period, there were many events such
as bombings and massacres that greatly impacted everyone in Iran. The
continuous reports of violence, killings, and revolts were broadcasted over the
television and radio constantly. As Marji’s family is regularly updated about
the events happening around the country through various ways, Marji was never
sheltered from all of the mature and gruesome truths. Marji was forced to
mature much quicker than most children and friends her age.
One of Marji’s
first encounters with the truth of the revolution was hearing her uncle
Anoosh’s story. As Marji listens to uncle Anoosh’s story of his journey as a
teenager and also him being imprisoned for “nine years,” she exclaims to her
friends how proud she is to “have a hero in [her] family” (54, 60). Anoosh told his stories with great
detail that Marji still did not understand or accept at such a young age.
Instead of focusing on the violence, she was wrapped up in how she can show off
to her friends that she has a hero in her family. At the same time, being proud
of her uncle and also bragging to her friends, she does not filter the story as
she hurries off to tell her friends. As shown in thought bubbles on page
sixty-one, panel four, her friends exclaims “too much” as Marji continues to
engage in her uncle’s story (61). Here we see that Marji’s friends react
differently to the story than how she did. They express “too much” because
their naïve minds have never hear such things before and as Marji continues on
with her story, she is unaware of the fact that other children her age have not
been exposed to the same things as she has.
As Marji continues
to be exposed to the truth about her society, she begins to develop her own
ideas and starts to voice her every opinion. She grew so much confidence that
she was able to speak up against her parents. After expressing herself to her
father how she felt about the bombings, Marji describes her father as “a
defeatist” and not a patriot, because he completely bypassed her opinion and
still viewed her as a young, naïve girl (83).
After this incident Marji sends herself to her room (82). This action of
sending herself to her own room implies that she is old enough to make her own
decisions. She believes that she is capable as her parents are to make her own
decisions; therefore, sending herself to her room implies that she is in charge
of herself. News continues to arrive about the revolutionary acts and Marji
cannot help but comment on them. She has come to understand relate to the many
aspects that came with the violent events.
Marji’s view on
her society continues to chance as she alters her goals for her future.
Becoming a prophet was such an important factor to Marji when she was younger,
but as she grew older, her goals became more realistic. She realizes that she
“wanted to study chemistry…like Marie Curie” (73). Only a handful of children
her age would even consider such a job. But as the impacts of society continue
to destroy education, Marji had a chance to understand the importance of her
education. She realized that if the government were to shut down universities,
then she would not be able to continue her education to fulfill her chemistry
dreams and therefore her “dreams went up in smoke” (73). At such a young age,
Marji already understood the importance of the cause and effect on having no
university systems. Children her age would love to hear that they did not have
to go to school anymore, but Marji, on the other hand, understood the long-term
effects of not having any education.
One major event
that caused Marji to understand the real power and cruelty of the government
was when she came along with her parents to the revolutionary demonstration.
“For the first time [Marji] saw violence with [her] own eyes” (76). Men and
women were both being attacked without any mercy at these demonstrations. Being
exposed to such violence at a young age can really alter a child’s mind and
thinking habits. Marji has been greatly impacted by this event because she now
realizes the power and cruelty that humans can obtain. Another event that is
engraved in Marji’s memories was the bombing at the “Baba-Levy’s house” (141).
When Marji and her mother walk passed the destroyed building, Marji recognizes
Neda’s bracelet. But as she approaches closer and closer to the bracelet, she
realizes “that the bracelet was still attached to [Neda’s arm]” (142). This
definitely was an experience that will never be forgotten. Marji had been
exposed to these grim scenes of the destruction and violence. These events
forced her to see society in a completely different manner and also show the
impact of this revolutionary period.
Overall, through
all of Marji’s experiences throughout this revolutionary time, she was
certainly more mature than other children her age. Having visually seen brutal
attacks and consistently hearing stories of others’ experiences greatly
influences Marji and her ideas of who she is. Throughout this memoir, Marji
matured very quickly at such young age and it forced her to look at reality
from different perspectives. Her transition from being a young, naïve little
girl to a mature young lady in a short amount of time forces her to stand out
from her friends and children within the same age group.
Project Space Space vs. Ethnography
What is space? Space is a continuous area or expanse that is free, available, or
unoccupied. There are many different types of space in our everyday lives. As
each and every single person enters a particular space, there is a sense of
change. Whether as an individual, or a group of individuals, when placed into a
certain space, the mood is affected and altered. The space we live in is
affected by who we are, and who we are can also affect the space we occupy. Everyone
takes on a role that specifically influences the different locations we enter.
The most common
space that most of us pass through at least once in our every day routine is
public space. Public space is an open and free area that can be occupied by
anyone and everyone. Even though public space is a common and free space, there
are still specific rules that are followed. The unofficial rules of public
spaces refer to the attitudes and behaviors that are expected while in these
public zones. For example, as we walk on the sidewalks, before crossing
streets, we must wait for the hand signal to notify people before crossing any
street. A simple gesture as this can be overlooked, but in fact it really
alters the space for the public. If there were no streetlights, one can only
imagine the crazy traffic and commotion of pedestrians walking all over the
streets with no care. This is only one of the many “public” rules that are
adapted into our society.
As we read in
the book Convergences, there is a
story told by Brent Staples of his own personal experiences with how he himself
altered public space. Staples is a young black male, who is about six feet and
two inches tall. Everywhere he went just a glimpse at him made people feel
uneasy. One day as he walks down an alley,
a white woman is walking toward him on the same sidewalk. As they continue
walking he can sense her uneasiness and sees that she fled across the street to
avoid confrontation. From the woman’s perspective, she probably believed that
he was a mugger of some sorts just because he was a black male wandering in the
alley.
Here we can see the affect that one person has
on a specific space but also how the space affected Staples and this woman’s
attitudes toward him. Staples is a graduate from the University of Chicago, and
yet out in public he was still judged and thought of as a hoodlum. He was in a
middle class neighborhood and therefore his own appearance affected the space.
Society’s influences can be overwhelming and unfair, but Staples’s experience
of being judged according to his appearances does show us the many
possibilities of how someone can easily influence our society even without
having to try.
As we continued on our journey to explore the
factors of space and the affect we ourselves can manipulate, our ethnography
project taught me a lot more than expected. I chose my work as the location for my ethnography. I
currently work at Pinecrest School in Van Nuys. This is a school that ranges from
grade levels kindergarten to eighth grade. Some may wonder why a school such as
this can we "LA". I believe this is a perfect example of LA because
first off education is an important factor anywhere and everywhere but also the
affects of children in a school environment can tell us a lot about spaces and
its affect on others.
On March 15th I went to work with a whole new goal and
attitude. At my job, as the after school yard supervisor, I am to look after
all the children and occasionally help them here and there or just keep them
entertained. But today, I went into work as a stranger, with no expectations.
The outcome of my observation was quite interesting and amusing. I realized
that since I was no longer playing with the kids, they were more cautious with
their every move. Groups of children that were up to no good were anxiety and
always looking back at me every time they had something scheming planned. I
could not help but laugh at this idea because now I was seen as a higher power
rather than a "friend" who was there to help and have fun.
This is a great example of space and how it affects ones attitude
and actions. Once the children knew that I was quiet and observing, they began
to also take note and adjust to my behaviors.
In that same day, at about 5
o'clock pm, the
students that are still at school were brought into the day care room to be
watched as they wait for their parents to arrive. Great amounts of student had
high energies and were loud and disruptive. But as soon later the principal
walks into the room and a quick layer of silence and perfection filled the
room. Here we can see the power of one person affecting a space. Here is a
great example of how we view and place people of authority above all. We always
try to impress those of higher rank and stature. This is also commonly seen
throughout our daily routine whether we realize it or not.
The impact of space would be considered "LA"
because I believe that everywhere we go, there is an expectation already set
for each and every one of us. Whether we walk into a mall or into a classroom,
there are different behaviors that are expected and practiced. The affect of
the children being in school are examples of how space affects a persons behavior
in a particular space and the affect that the principal or any other authority
figure have on the children is an example of how one can affect the space they
present themselves in.
With all of these facts and experiences, I have learned so
much about how important an individual can be, whether they know it or not. In
any type of space there will be people judging you and altering their attitudes
because of your presence, which is a form of an individual influencing a space.
And as for a space affecting individuals, we can take a school as an example.
The way students are expected to act and behave during school hours is
completely different that what they act like outside of campus areas. These are
just some of the many examples that show and prove that certain spaces
are shaped with ideologies that affect and shape our conceptions of world and
being, and how certain issues are tied with certain spaces.
Project Web Journey to Understanding
Entering my first semester in this English course, I expected it to be pretty much the same as all the other English courses that I have taken in the past. I am not a huge fan of writing; therefore I dreaded this class even before I had the chance to experience it because I thought that the main focus was going to be writing essays. But soon enough, my views of this course took a huge turn as soon as we began our assignment on rhetorical strategies and ethnographies. This theme not only engaged my interest, but I believe that since it was so interesting to me, writing about it came a lot easier. Getting myself involved inspired me to write. As my journey continues throughout the first semester in college, these rhetorical skills and actions have developed and shaped me to understand people and my surroundings more.
As the last assignment in our first semester, we had to focus on our rhetorical skills and also observe them being uses in society. Learning about rhetoric really stuck to me ever since the first day we stared to discuss it. I did not realize how important and how commonly rhetoric was used. The three main focuses and ideas of rhetoric are pathos, logos, and ethos. Each of these ideas within rhetoric helps in or everyday lives. Whether we know it or not, every little thing we do is based on the matters of rhetoric. Using the skills of knowing how to play with emotions, credibility, and logic, rhetoric is a part of our every day decision making routine. One of our assignments was to observe rhetoric in our lives. We were to implant ourselves in any location we wanted and observe the actions of the people within this space, without having ourselves affecting the space. The interaction between people whether friends, family, or strangers, each and every person I observed proved a point of rhetorical actions. Once I was able to see and understand the cause and effect actions between others, I was able to consistently view them in my own life. First being able to learn what rhetoric is, then seeing in lay helped me better understand the human actions and reasoning. This skill that I have built through our first semester really impacted my life and as I continued on into the second semester these new findings and knowledge was useful in our upcoming projects.
With these rhetorical skills that I have acquired in our first semester, they really helped me understand, not only myself, but also others on a different level. My learned rhetorical skills have also helped me on our Project Space in the second semester. Project Space was an assignment that taught us the difference between the different types of places and how people can affect these specific spaces. Projects Space improved my understanding of the impact of just one person in specific spaces. I have learned that depending on one’s location, they can greatly affect the area that they resign. For example, I work at Pinecrest Schools as an after school yard supervisor.
I spend most of my time with children ranging form the grade levels of kindergarten to eighth grade. And as a young teenager working at a school my presence affects the students differently. The younger kids view me as just another adult authority figure but the other students, such as the eighth graders see me as more of their “friends” because we are close in age. Therefore it is a lot tougher for me to have control and have them take me seriously because they only see me as a friend. There are many other examples of how I affected this school space but I feel like this greatly proves how one can affect a space.
I believe that my experiences from my first semester greatly influenced my actions and learning habits for this second semester. Being able to practice my rhetorical skills, I have been able to utilize my decision-making skills in a more sufficient way. By beginning the year developing theses skills, I was able to incorporate them into the second semester, especially in our Project Space. Project space focused more on how one affects a particular location and space. By using the three ideals of rhetoric, I was able to observe why and how people changed the mood of spaces through their every action and communication styles.
Throughout these first two semesters, I was able to learn many skills that will definitely stick with me for the rest of my life. I believe that the skills I have developed from our first semester helped me both, in our second semester's project space, but also helped me realize and see my own life through many different perspectives. I have improved my rhetorical skills and have been able to recognize and put to use my new discoveries. I have learned that even though I may not like writing, if I am able to be engaged into the subject and become interested, it is easier for my to build up the encouragement to write. 
