Literacy Narrative Rough Draft
Category: Student Posts
Sketch #6
iPad—It’s mostly for taking notes in class.
A notebook—I almost never used it except for sometimes during creative writing class.
Some crumpled exams or handouts from class—I almost never remembered to organize them or put them in a binder or folder.
Two mechanical pencils and an eraser—I don’t know where my pencil case is.
A lipstick—sometimes after a long day of class, I would look pale as of O haven’t eaten anything in three days,
I think this portrait reflects my lack of organization (the lost pencil case and the messy papers) and also me caring about my own appearance. For the image, I decided to stack all of my stuffs together to recreate how messy they are in my school bag.
In My Bag
C.S. Lewis books: The Screwtape Letters, Mere Christianity
My Bible
Glasses case
Calculator
A pen and pencils
(fake) Airpod case
Macbook with case
Binder
My backpack
On an average school day, my backpack is not nearly this full. But this weekend I went camping, so I used this as an opportunity to combine some of my leisure with some of my work. Most days, I bring my computer, binder, and some paper in a notebook to class. But I think this photo represents what I wish my bag looked like. I have always longed to be a dedicated reader with loads of knowledge and wisdom to pull from, but my discipline has always been lacking. This weekend was a great opportunity to voluntarily read and dwell on some theology along the way. The earphones have also been more common in my bag lately. I have always loved music and I found that listening to a song or two in between classes is a great way to clear my mind and destress. Lastly, I have had this backpack since my sophomore year of high school and I feel like we have been through everything together, so I do not anticipate getting a new one any time soon.
Coffee Shop Stop
Buying coffee with my credit card single-handedly destroyed my budget. So every time I could scrape together some cash and coins, I would grab my five-dollar bill, a couple of quarters, nickels, and pennies and a bag and buy myself a Panera Iced Madagascar Vanilla Latte. I would then sit down and open up my bag and scribble or read.
- The Bag: I despise tote bags. They are big, bulky and so unorganized. This bag is medium-sized with lots of pockets. I got this bag from my aunt in Korea. It is made of entirely recycled truck tarp and old seatbelts.
- I keep two journals, one with lined paper and the other with loose-leaf paper for both writing and drawing.
- Post-it notes.
- A couple pens.
- Hair tie and hairclip.
- Mints. I hate mouthfeel after I eat.
- Airpods.
- My favorite book, The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov.
I tried to think about what I would grab if I had five minutes to get out the door to study at a coffee shop and which bag I would get. It was very easy, since all the stuff I grabbed was what I usually brought anyways. Everything I chose was in the same place because I had put it in my bag so many times. I was pretty realistic about my decisions because I usually go to Panera to read, write, or draw.
The most challenging aspect of this sketch was the design. I still don’t love the color arrangement, but I think the book really tied it together. Representing myself in a catalog of the stuff in my bag doesn’t feel like writing to me. It definitely says something about me in a visual way, but I think writing has more to do with words and potentially photos but not just photos.
What’s in My Bag?
- MacBook with an Apple sticker on top of the Apple logo
- An iPad with no power left
- Chem Lab Notebook
- Safety Goggles for lab
- Empty glasses container because I took the glasses out and never put it back
- 3 pens (2 without ink) and 1 mechanical pencil
- Ice Cubes mint gum
- Half-written Math 111 Exam 1 review pack
- Calculator with 5% battery left
After this exercise, I realized I am not as organized as I think. A lot of the items in my bag are not used every day, but I still keep them inside. For example, my math exam has been a week ago. At the same time, I learned that I have a habit of not charging my devices, so I should probably bring my chargers in the future. The challenging part of this assignment is to decide which items represent my personality best. I excluded my backpack because it took too much of the space and left out some smaller objects that I think do not have as much importance. I think that this is a type of writing because there is a purpose of creating the catalog and a message is conveyed.
SK6 Reflection
Creating an image of myself through the stuff I tote around made me realize how much my bag actually shows about myself. Even down to the smallest detail of my chemistry assignment benign crumbled up, I feel that things I carry are representative of the way I carry myself and the way I go about life. I tend to traverse through life lightly and not over-complicate my existence. Contrary to carrying things that I don’t need, I actually like to pack my bag pretty light. This attests to my desire to not let things weigh me down. Whether that be a difficult assignment that I have to complete sometimes (anything chemistry) or an interestingly random wave of feelings that comes over me. I used the word sometimes in almost all of my descriptions because all of the belongings I carry in my bag aren’t getting used on a daily basis. I feel that it also acts as a fun punctuation of sorts. It looks cooler than just using a “.” I laid my belongings out with no particular structure in mind, then later realized that the more central items are used more frequently than the stuff in the periphery. This is likely due to those things being thrown around on top of stuff in my bag. I know that I’m on a streak of saying this right now, but this has been my favorite assignment that we have completed thus far because it has allowed me to take a look at myself in a new light and smile in the process as I made out the type of person I am with a little wittiness sprinkled in between the lines.
What’s In My Bag Sometimes
Items:
Kofi Igyan Banner
- Just in case I forget my name.
Mac
- I need it to do homework sometimes
Mac Charger
- My mac needs it to charge so I can do homework sometimes
Powerade Bottle
- I carry it around and use it during and after my track workouts because I run fast sometimes
Crumpled Up Paper
- Disregarded Chemistry LA session worksheet that I did(deep symbolism of how I feel about Chemistry).
My reMarkable Paper Tablet
- Possibly the most fantastic device I’ve gotten for $free.99. I use it to take notes and tp enhance my learning and retention of material sometimes
Roll-On Cologne
- I use it to avoid that post-track practice smell of victory sometimes.
TI- Inspire Calculator
- This trusty steed helps me preserve brain cells when I have to do not-so-fun^2 calculations sometimes
Chemistry Lab Notebook
- I write about experiments here sometimes
Safety Goggles
- I use these to protect my eyes when I’m in Chem Lab (not sometimes because that would be a safety hazard).
Contents of my Backpack
From top left to bottom right:
- Nerds Gummy Clusters – I forgot these were in there until I dumped out the contents of my backpack
- IPhone charger and MacBook charger tangled together
- Biology notebook in turquoise, Econ notebook in lavender
- AirPods
- Two hair ties – for when I forget to bring one to practice
- Pencil case with various pens, pencils, and highlighters
- Rose gold MacBook
It was interesting to create a self-portrait using the contents of my backpack, and I felt as though it was not an accurate portrait of me. For the most part, my backpack contained items that are for my classes, which is not an accurate representation of my personality. I laid the contents of my backpack on my dorm floor, and attempted to make everything appear organized. I opened my pencil case and spilled some of the pens out. I do not think representing myself through a catalog of the stuff in my bag is a type of writing because I feel as though the contents of my bag have no significant meaning or representation.
