For this assignment, I looked at the portfolios of Emily Gonzalez, Pamela, and Maya who are all incredible writers in their own ways. Their websites were also aesthetically themed and organized, which admittedly left me a little jealous. I left comments on each of their portfolios, but am summarizing my observations below.
Reading Emily’s writing made me realize how good she is at analyzing evidence- something I could surely learn from. In her essay called ‘Who and What were the Arabian Nights Written for? How does this contribute to the hyper-sexualization of Arabic women?’ I pointed out the importance of questioning the target audience of any media to gauge the creator’s intentions. I also loved the poem she wrote for Creative Writing and how it drew an image of a modern market in place of the ancient marketplace we have been talking about. The lines “Native tongues and foreign tongues initiate/Bargains and Chatter” stuck out to me the most.
Going through Pamela’s portfolio was also a very pleasant experience. Her reflection on her portfolio for Reading Ourselves stuck with me the most. It was warming to see her acknowledge and celebrate her growth as a writer over the course of these past few months and her excitement to grow even more inspired my own. I also read her reflection on The Quran & its Place in the Muslim Community event, and completely agree with the importance of learning about other religions and cultures. I found it fascinating that the Quran has remained unchanged for over 1,450 years which is something I didn’t previously know.
Lastly, Maya’s writing was interesting in that I believe through our class discussions that we share a lot of similar opinions and interpretations, which was confirmed to me through her Summarizing Staninger assignment. As I commented, I loved seeing how we worded our similar interpretations in such different ways, and her shorter summary stayed with me. The way she juxtaposed “buried image” with “capable, independent, and self-sufficient” was a clever way of using fewer words to imply a much bigger meaning. Also, Scheherazade’s Poem was beautifully worded and the last four lines moved me the most. The way she put a more positive, jaded spin on the prince rather than the villainous reputation he has gained in our class was very compelling.
