Winter Journal Prompts 2021

Journal entries are due weekly. Together these make up a “major” assignment this quarter which means they
need to demonstrate that you put time/energy into your work. From my perspective, that means that you’re
writing for at least 30 to 45 minutes and drawing/creating for another 30 minutes.

ONE:
Step into the shoes of a city planner by writing about your “dream” city - feel free to draw from your favorite parts of cities that exist or maybe
you’ve visited (you can draw from fiction as well). Try to be specific as possible. Who lives there? What are the most important pieces/parts of
your “dream” city? Why are these important? If you draw from cities you’ve experienced, consider how you can keep improving these urban
designs in your “dream” city. Don’t forget to be specific and creative!

TWO:
Write about the place you consider HOME. What connects you to your home? What history does it hold for you? What are your hopes and fears
for it? What do you do to protect it, or prepare it for the future, or make it better? There’s a famous line, “There’s no place like home” but some
people disagree with this statement. How has living in a new place changed your sense of home? (you don’t have to answer all these questions,
just the ones you want…)

THREE:
"Different people bring different senses of that same place" - Hunter and David (authors of The Cultural Atlas of PDX)...

The place where you live, take two. Last week you wrote about the place you consider home. This week is about that same place but from a
slightly different perspective. Map it with your words. How would you go about mapping the place where you live? What would you include?
Exclude? Why? Use The Cultural Atlas of Portland for inspiration and think about what Hunter and David shared about maps being stories;
extensions of our experience with a place, with a space. Feel free to add drawings, illustrations, photos to this week’s journal entry.

FOUR:
You went on your map trip. You encountered your map in “real life”. You even told us about it. Now what? What do you think is the most
interesting thing to communicate about your topic? How does this relate to your discoveries? So you are going to make a map, either as a group
or individually about something related to your map. How do you want this to be put to use by people in Portland? What do you want it to say?
What will its impact be?

FIVE in FIVE PARTS:

Write about something you learned outside of school. This can be practical (cooking, sewing, building, changing a tire) or physical (sports, rock
climbing, yoga, meditation, hiking) or creative or anything really. How was this learning experience different for you (than school learning)? Did
it feel like “learning”? Do you still use or do this thing? Why or why not? Now pivot to something you’d like to learn/teach yourself this quarter.
What comes to mind? It can be a small or big thing. Why are you drawn to this thing now? What are the first steps you imagine trying/doing?

SIX (due Tuesday 2/25):

Write about your practice interview... Who did you interview? Why? What did you hear that was interesting or surprising or deep or
thought-provoking or unexpected? If you were going to do it again, what would you do differently? When you think back to your eighth grade
self - what stands out in your memory (good and bad)? What do you wish someone had asked you then? If you could only ask one question about
Portland or growing up/going to school what would it be?

SEVEN (I will be collecting your journals on Tuesday 3/2)

Interview a friend/family member for a minimum of 15 to 20 minutes using questions about their sense of place + your group’s focus.

Reflection Questions:
Write about your practice interview... Who did you interview? Why? What questions did you ask? What did you hear that was interesting or
surprising or deep or thought-provoking or unexpected? If you were going to do it again, what would you do differently? Did you hear any
stories? How could you ask a question that elicits a story? If you could only ask one question about PLACE(s)what would it be?

EIGHT (This is the last one):

Write a good long reflection on your takeaways from your interview and how it connects with your place-based research this term - What did you
discover about the person you interviewed? What new perspectives did you hear? How about connections between your lived experience and the
person you interviewed? How can you apply your interview takeaways to your other research? Be creative with this one too - drawings, collages,
photos!
Letter #1
Step into the shoes of a city planner by writing about your “dream” city - feel free to draw from your favorite parts
of cities that exist or maybe you’ve visited (you can draw from fiction as well). Try to be specific as possible. Who
lives there? What are the most important pieces/parts of your “dream” city? Why are these important? If you draw
from cities you’ve experienced, consider how you can keep improving these urban designs in your “dream” city.
Don’t forget to be specific and creative!

A few cities that I have come to love for their nature are North Bend, and my home town of Federal Way. A city
whose architecture I have come to love is that of Snoqualmie Pass. North Bend and Federal way have so much
nature implemented throughout the city, that you do not feel trapped in a concrete jungle where you have to drive
miles out to the nearest city that offers clean and crisp air to breathe. North Bend is famous for its low light pollution
and endless trails. If you have ever wanted a place where the stars are the only light that lights up the sky at night,
North Bend is the place to go. For $30 a night you can rent a camping area where you have stars, trails, rivers, deer,
owls, and logs to light a fire throughout the night for $5 a stack. Federal Way is a large city with many trails that
take you throughout Federal Way's reserved wetlands. Where the infamous Redondo Beach never sleeps, a rocky
beach where you can see the outskirts of another city across the distance. Also a beach that has a long bridge where
the youth and elderly come to exercise, walk their furry friends, catch up with each other, take cool photos during
the sunset, etc.

My dream city is a city where everyone has a warm place to sleep at night. My dream city is also a city where
everyone treats each other as kin. My dream city does not have anti homeless architecture or anti animal buildings.
After all, we are intruding in what once was their ancestors' homes and native paths during migrating season.

While I write my dream city into existence, imagine a city that is overflowing with excitement in every corner. I love
a city that has a thriving ecosystem, not a concrete jungle. Small trails for people to walk or bike through, or large
trails that elevate you thousands of feet where the skyline is filled with a neverending site of evergreen trees that stay
their dark green color year round.

Hiking with friends is one of the best activities the pacific northwest has to offer. Where you go to get lost at a trail
not too far from home with your friends for a few hours. To pick up an unhealthy, cheap box of pizza right after to
enjoy while you sit on a multi decade old wooden picnic table and enjoy the salty air of the rocky beaches.
Letter #2
Write about the place you consider HOME. What connects you to your home? What history does it hold for you?
What are your hopes and fears for it? What do you do to protect it, or prepare it for the future, or make it better?
There’s a famous line, “There’s no place like home” but some people disagree with this statement. How has living in
a new place changed your sense of home? (you don’t have to answer all these questions, just the ones you want…)

The place I call home is Kent, Washington & Federal Way, Washington. It is where I hold about 90% of any
memory ever made. For myself, home is where the memories live. And although home could be a house, I am in that
percent of US residents whose family has never owned an actual house. However, it is because of that, that I was
able to grow up in different apartments, and houses that allowed me to meet people and make memories.

My first home I can remember was located in Kent, WA. These small wooden apartments that I lived in for
about 8 years of my life. I made my first best friend there, got my first “crush” in those same apartments. It is where
a sweet old Latina lady would take care of my siblings and me, where we would knock small apple like fruits from a
large tree. My first home was also the home of building forts with the apartment children at the apartment
playground area, riding bicycles with broken chains and zero breakpad down the hill right beside the laundry house
with zero precaution as to what could possibly happen. It was eating sandwiches with chips stuffed in the middle
after trying to learn to swim together while our parents would dive head into the pool to save us after we felt too
grown and thought we could swim. It was waking up on Easter morning to celebrate with the other children of the
apartments because the manager had planned a special egg hunt that ended in a cabana party with food and prizes.
My first ever home sounds like a dream that is too good to be true. However, that was back then. I am not sure if the
children living in those same apartments get to experience the excitement of learning to swim as a pack, or the
adrenaline that would blind us from potential harm. Those very children I grew up with left the desire to meet at the
voltage box and climb trees for guns and drive bys. Do they not realize that they are harming what was once the land
that once caught their tears when they scraped their knee after falling during a game of tag? Although I worry for the
children that live in Kent today, I am grateful I got to experience the peace before the destruction when I needed it
most.

My second home is the home I currently live in. I have made memories here since mid way through my 7th
grade year of middle school. I remember I hated moving away from home. I was a 30 minute drive from my friends,
from my school, from anything I had ever really known. As I grew older, so did my friends. Which meant we could
finally enjoy each other's company outside of school because we could now drive. My backyard has held some of
the deepest conversations right in front of a small, rusty fire pit. You would somehow imagine that the people you
have grown up with the past 8 years of your life would feel connected. Especially after hours spent on Skype asking
the night away as if school didn't exist. However, after one of those summer nights that was spent talking in front of
a fire pit, I realized that everyone went home feeling more complete than we had previously felt in the years before.
When I woke up to two posts made by two of my friends where they both shared how complete they had recently
started to feel because they finally felt like they had a place to call “home”. Like I said before, home is not defined
by windows, doors, walls, and furniture. Home is those who we surround ourselves with. Home is memories. Home
is a last minute bonfire.

To me home has always been where the people I love are. Where there is love, there are memories.
Letter #3
"Different people bring different senses of that same place" - Hunter and David (authors of The Cultural Atlas of
PDX)...

The place where you live, take two. Last week you wrote about the place you consider home. This week is about that
same place but from a slightly different perspective. Map it with your words. How would you go about mapping the
place where you live? What would you include? Exclude? Why? Use The Cultural Atlas of Portland for inspiration
and think about what Hunter and David shared about maps being stories; extensions of our experience with a place,
with a space. Feel free to add drawings, illustrations, photos to this week’s journal entry.

The picture above are sketches I have made of my home throughout my ARCH class. My home is well, my
home. It is where I live and where I spend most of my time, considering the current state of the United States of
America as a whole.

I have drawn elevations of my sacred space in the house (my room), and how the cosmos work around my
room. In most recent classes we have involved our house a bit more. However, when I think about how my “home”
would relate more into a setting such as the Portlandness; A Cultural Atlas, I think it would be best to portray what
makes Federal Way, WA my home. At first glance Federal Way is a plain city. There is not much to see in terms of
art or architecture, or much to hear. But one thing about Federal Way that makes me proud is how diverse it is. The
Federal Way public school district is among one of the nation's most diverse districts. According to many websites,
the FWPS lands at #5 in the most diverse districts in America. You can drive around and land anywhere in the world
via a dish or drink. One second you are in Vietnam enjoying a bánh mì, later that same day you can be in El
Salvador enjoying a juicy pupusa, to finish the day you can travel throughout Europe at the Euro Food & Deli
through desserts from all Russia, Ukraine, Germany, etc.
The diversity of Federal Way is the most positive characteristic. The gang violence in Federal Way is
among one of the city's worst characteristics. Especially when you notice that grade school children are selling the
safety of their family, as well as their own wellbeing, to the streets ran by cold blooded crooks who promise safety,
“family”, and a “home”. What they fail to mention is that once you sell your soul to the streets, you have placed a
bounty written by blood above your loved ones heads.
Letter #4
You went on your map trip. You encountered your map in “real life”. You even told us about it. Now what? What do
you think is the most interesting thing to communicate about your topic? How does this relate to your discoveries?
So you are going to make a map, either as a group or individually about something related to your map. How do you
want this to be put to use by people in Portland? What do you want it to say? What will its impact be?

(This letter will cross over with the Portlandness essay)

“We drove around Portland photographing the piles of junk under I-5, in Portland’s very own China Town,
and other locations I would have remembered if I knew the city as much as I knew my home city. We started at
China Town where it looked like a ghost town. Every building looked vacant, boarded up to prevent break-ins, and
absolutely tattooed by gangs, protestors, and probably any person looking for a location to “leave their mark”. After
Chinatown, I believe we headed closer to I-5 where there was garbage for miles ahead. I did not know what to
expect of Portland since the closest I had ever been to Portland was the Woodburn Outlet Mall ages ago. I could say
I was so shocked at the mass amounts of homeless individuals, trash, lack of public hygiene services, and overall
lack of community help.

This section of my essay talked more about my experience once I arrived in Oregon. The discoveries I
made were that there was a lack of trash cans, as mentioned. I only saw 3 public trash cans that were not attached to
a bus hut. This was surprising to me because I am used to my home town, and being around Seattle every now and
then. It was noticeable to me how there was a lack of public sanitary services that would help the city keep trash off
the floors. Of course no city is completely clean, however, I have never seen such a filthy city. My mouth, as well as
my moms, was on the floor once we drove over the bridge that connects Washington and Oregon. Driving around
the city was eye opening. You would think that the city would implement more money into housing for the
homeless, as well as sanitary services, but according to Quora the city of Portland has about 2 street cleanings
annually. In the same thread, it was also stated that most major cities have street cleanings weekly. In addition, the
thread also mentioned that the city of Portland is not really trying to find temporary housing for homeless people,
they kind of just gave up. The credibility of the source is of course, not the best, but the statements definitely stand
frozen in every corner and crack of Portland.
I would love for there to be more investment into keeping Portland clean. It is one thing to recycle and
compost in areas with a more wealthy population. But it is a necessity for a city to keep a slate of equity throughout
the board. Why implement $3000 dollar trash cans sparsely throughout the city, when a portion of the population
does not even have a traditional waste collection trash can to get rid of their trash. From the outside perspective
Portland seems like the ideal place to be. You have a progressive, young, artistic demographic that brings livelihood
to the imagination of what Portland looks, feels, and sounds like. The image is ruined once you cross the bridge and
drive into the city and see how corrupt and trashy the city is. The smell of lack of public restrooms and trash cans is
masked by the lovely scent of food carts. All the gang graffiti blends in with the art murals. The boarded up
buildings are masked by driving your attention away from the ground and up into the city's skyline.
How I plan to hopefully make my own map is by pinpointing the locations of public trash cans, landfills,
and portable restrooms. The drive around Portland had to be quick because of the time I was able to be in the city,
but I plan to use my internet resources to create a map that showcases Portland's public sanitary services.
Letter #5
Write about something you learned outside of school. This can be practical (cooking, sewing, building, changing a
tire) or physical (sports, rock climbing, yoga, meditation, hiking) or creative or anything really. How was this
learning experience different for you (than school learning)? Did it feel like “learning”? Do you still use or do this
thing? Why or why not? Now pivot to something you’d like to learn/teach yourself this quarter. What comes to
mind? It can be a small or big thing. Why are you drawn to this thing now? What are the first steps you imagine
trying/doing?

One great non school related skill I learned was how to rock climb! My junior year of high school I was
taken on a trip with school friends to a facility at the University of Washington Seattle to learn how to rock climb.
There were kids who already knew how to rock climb, and there were beginners who were rock climbing for the
first time, I was one of those kids.

There I am reaching the top of a wall that was approximately 10-12ft. Which would not sound like a tall
distance to climb. I am 5’3 so it would be just a bit over 2times my height. My upper body strength is absolute
garbage. The school I went to had no P.E class since it was just a bunch of portables. My school later conjoined with
a preexisting school, with an actual building (how cool). Unfortunately for me… I was not enrolled into a PE class
until my senior year (the school conjoined my sophomore year). I remember trying so hard to pull myself up, not
realizing that rock climbing works best when using leg strength and minimal upper body strength. Unless you
happen to be one of those crazy talented rock climbers who can climb ledges. It was not until one of the students
running the program noticed my insanely muscle packed biceps doing all the hard work, that I was told to use as
much leg muscle as possible. After that interaction, I was able to climb a wall that was approximately 17-20ft with
ease. And if it wasn't for my fear of heights I would have attempted to climb the 40 ft wall. Luckily I got to watch
two of my friends race to the top, one of my friends ended up swinging around the room like a pinata for a while
since he slipped and let go. IIIIM GONNA SWING FROM THE CHANDELIERRRRR.

I left home feeling on top of the world. I had finally worked out for the first time in a while. The next
morning the lack of stretching and conditioning slapped me in the face. I could not move. I was sore to the bone.
The feeling of being on top of the world did not go away, I became a little more invested in working out at home to
keep my muscles somewhat in shape. I have not rock climbed since, but I hope that I am soon able to rock climb
again.

A skill I hope to learn this quarter is how to drive! I was bought a car on Halloween, and it has been waiting
for my buttcheeks to mold into the drivers seat since then. I have been learning the laws, but no luck in driving over
20 MPH without tearing up just yet. I wish to learn so I can finally get a job wherever I please. I think it would also
be good to know how to drive since this bird is ready to temporarily leave the nest this fall. Sometime soon I will be
taking private driving lessons by Ruby (driving instructor who taught my older sister). I am excited!