Round1

DylanRound
ProfessorStar
English114B
30March2015
PositiveVs.Negative
Howwouldyoucategorizeyoursanctuaryspace?Manyindividualshavedifferentideas
ofsanctuaryspacesastowhichtheyspendtheirfreetimes.Bydefinitionasanctuaryis,aplace
ofrefugeorsafety(Webster).Mostpeoplehavesanctuariestheycanturntoinordertoget
awayfromtherealitytheymaybefacingeveryday.InbothMarjaneSatrapi's,
Persepolis
and
ShermanAlexies,
TheAbsolutelyTrueDiariesofaPartTimeIndian
therearemanydifferent
spaces.Thesespacesincludephysical,transitional,andmostimportantlymental.Mentalspace
playahugeroleinpeopleslives.SomepeoplebelievethathavingaSanctuaryspacedoesnot
changeyourqualityoflife,butMarjane(
Persepolis),
Junior(
Theabsolutelytruediariesofa
parttimeindian)
,andIhavedifferentexperiences.ManypeoplesimilartoMarjanehave
negativespaceswhilebothjunior,andIhavepositivespaces.Eitherwayithasahugeeffecton
lives.
Althoughasanctuaryspacemaynotalwaysbephysical,itisalwaysimportant.people
usesanctuaryspacesaswaystoescapeanddistractfromreality.Thesehobbiesoractivitiescan
beeithernegativeorpositive.Eitherwayitcanhaveahugeeffectonthewayyouliveyourlife.
Inthearticle,
Environmentalpsychology,
expertstalkabouttheimportancethatmentalspace
playsinpeopleslives.

Round2

As a person interacts with various places and spaces, he/she is able to evaluate
which properties in different environments fulfill his/her various needs. When a
place contains components that satisfy a person biologically, socially,
psychologically and/or culturally, it creates the environmental past of a person.
Through good or bad experiences with a place, a person isthenabletoreflect
and define their personal values, attitudes, feelings and beliefs aboutthephysical
world(wikipedia).
Like previously stated in the article, good or bad experiences affect peoples living environment
drastically. Giving reason to understand why having a sanctuary space is important. Either a
negative space like Marjane, or a positive spacelikeJuniorandI,itcanchangeyourperspective
as to which you live your life. While you are able to express and relieveyourselfinasanctuary
spaceitgivesyouthemindtocontinuouslylife.
In Persepolis, Marjane hasmanyhappyplaces,buttheonethatdefinitelysticksoutisher
times when she is doing drugs. Drugs gave her the type of escapefromrealitythatmostpeople
are looking for in life. While others have more positive releases her was lessproductiveinthat
she was experimenting with drugs as opposed to getting out of her depression and moving
forward with her life. Marjane surrounds herself with others who aredoingthesamething,and
that ends up making things worse as presentedinthisquotefrom thenovel,
Ihadstartedtaking
more and more. At first, Markus was veryimpressed,then,hestartedtolectureme, andfinally,
he distanced himself(226).
Although Persepolis had a place of refuge it was anything but
positive, she ended up doing drugs alone in her home. Having a negative space can affect
people livesinmanyway.
ElizabethV
enzinexplainsinthearticleHowDoes LowSelfEsteem

Round3

Negatively Affect You?,

When negative influences and thoughts are prevalent generated
either from within ourselves or through others it adversely affects the way we feel about
ourselves. It also affects the experiences we have in our lives (1). Venzin states that negative
influences affect lives, that could related to Sanctuary spaces in that many people withnegative
spacedleadnegativelives.
InShermanAlexies,
Theabsolutelytruediariesofaparttimeindian,
Themain
characterJuniorisgoingthroughalotinhislifeatthistime.Withchangingschools,losing
friends,anddealingwithbeingbulliedheturnstodrawing.Heexplainsdrawingasawayfor
himtoexpresshimselftoeveryone,doesntmatterwhatlanguageyouspeakeveryonecan
understandadoodle.Inthenovelhetalksextensivelyaboutwhyhedrawsandheexplains,
I
feelimportantwithapeninmyhand.IfeellikeImightgrowuptobesomebodyimportant.An
artist.Maybeafamousartist.Maybearichartist.(6).It'simportanttohaveasanctuarythat
empowersapersonlikeJuniorfeelsabouthisDrawing.
ThisbecomesJuniorshappyplace,a
mentalspaceofunderstandingbetweenhimandpaperthatcantranslatetoanyonewithout
judgment.Positivespacesaregoodforyouandyourwellbeing.Inthearticle
MakeMoreArt:
TheHealthBenefitsofCreative,
JamesClearexplains,Therearebothphysicalandmental
benefitsfromcreatingart,expressingyo
urselfinatangibleway,andsharingsomethingwiththe
world.Imtryingtodomoreofiteachweek,andIdencourageyoutodothesame(1).Junior
foundaspacewhichhelpedhimgrowandaspireforabrighterfuture.Artisjustonewaypeople
canexpressthemselvesandhaveapositiveandproductivesanctuaryspace.Beingableto
expressoneselfthroughaformofartallowsreflection,andinturnprogressinlife.

Round4

MymostprizedsanctuaryspacewouldbewhenIamwithmycamera,photographing
thingsIfindmostbeautiful.InthattimeIcantrulyexpressmyselfandshowotherswhatIam
proudof.IthasgrownfromahobbyIdidnttakeseriously,tosomethingItrulyampassionate
aboutandaspiretofollowthroughwithinmylife.Itallstartedinhighschool,Itookthe
photographyclassfor3years.Whatmademestickaroundwasmyteachersbeliefinme.He
mademeapplytoacontestbyenteringoneofmyveryfirstassignments.Iendedupwinning
outoftheentirecountryandmadeitinto
PhotographersForum
asoneofthebestofcollege
andhighschoolranking.Thiscameasahugesurprisetome.Nowinsteadofbeingtimid
aboutmyphotos,itmademewanttotakepicturesevenmoreandtrymybestatwhatevercame
mywaynext.PersonallyIbelievethathavingasanctuaryspacethatleadsyoutobetteryour
futureissomethingtotrulylookforinlife.Ihopethatphotographywillleadmetomyfuture
careeraswellasstillmypassion.
Havingasanctuaryspaceisveryimportanttoanyindividual.Havingoneinwhichyou
canescapefromrealityandinturncreateabetterfutureisevenmoreimportant.Bothmineand
Juniorsspacesareproductiveplaceswherewecanexpressourselvesandshowotherswhatwe
love.Thesespacesallowforgrowthandprosperityinourfutures.OntheotherhandMarjane
hadalessproductivespacewhichleadhertoatoughtime.thisnegativityleadMarjanethrough
alotoftroubleswhichshehadtofindherselfoutof.Havingasanctuaryspaceisimportant,but
havingapositiveoneisevenmoreimportant.Thisspaceshouldallowyoutogrowintoa
strongerperson.Itshouldalwaysinspireyoutobethebetteryou.Persepolishaddrugs,which
distractedherfromherfutureandherwellbeing.JuniorandIwereabletothinkbeyond,

Round5

becomemotivated.Sowhileothersarguethatpositiveornegativespacesdon'tmatter,itdoes
becausetheyaffectyourfutureandyourwellbeing.

Round6

WorksCited
Alexie,Sherman,andEllenForney.
TheAbsolutelyTrueDiaryofaParttimeIndian
.New
York:Little,Brown,2007.Print.
"EnvironmentalPsychology."
Wikipedia
.WikimediaFoundation,Web.02Apr.2015.
"HowDoesLowSelfEsteemNegativelyAffectYou?"
PsychCentral.com
.Web.29
Mar.2015.
MerriamWebster
.MerriamWebster,Web.27Mar.2015.
Satrapi,Marjane.
Persepolis
.NewYork,NY:Pantheon,2003.Print.