1/8/2023

When I was looking at the image it made me feel sad since the image kind of looks lonely but it
also made me wonder why the boat is just sitting there. The walk made me think about how just
yesterday I was looking out onto the ocean and saw a cruise ship and I was thinking about how
it feels to go into the ocean and just seeing the water go on and on as my dad was telling me
about his experience on a boat when he was younger. I also thought about how when I’m older I
want to travel and go to places and not just stay in one place like the boat is doing. I think the
sunset on the beach also drew me to the beach since before when I was living here I wouldn’t
really visit or see the beach but now it has become a normal occurrence for me to experience
what it is like seeing the sunset by the beach while I’m here. I think that taking a walk compared
to sitting down was different because I was able to move around and feel the breeze which
made me feel more in the moment and it also made me concentrate more on the image instead
of just sitting down.

Something that has somewhat been challenging for me is the transition to university. The new
setting and not being familiar with many things has been difficult at times for me. Before getting
here I wasn’t sure how the school year will go and currently I am still adjusting to things however
I do feel like coming back to this quarter is becoming more familiar. I also wasn’t sure how I
would feel when I started the school year in regards to being homesick. Before leaving for
college and coming to UCSB I have always been with my family and now being in a new setting
and with new people I have had to branch out a little more. I am still trying to adjust to this new
environment and setting however I now have somewhat of a view on what college is like since I
went through the first quarter already. The time to adjust here I feel will take some time however
I think I am becoming a little bit more familiar with how it works being in university compared to
high school.

1/10/24

The image on the board reminds me of when I just went to Disneyland for the first time ever this
year for Grad Nite. I had a lot of fun going to Disneyland especially since I go to be with my
friends. During this time I remember how excited I was leading up to the trip and how much fun
our high school graduation trip to Disneyland would be. I got to be with my friends the whole
time I was at Disneyland which made it better and I also remember being in a small world, the
ride. Me and my friends decided to get the fast pass when we got to Disneyland so we then
went on a whole lot of rides. I remember when I went to ride the small world ride it was
something that was very pretty to me. The whole ride felt so fun and I just kept looking and
looking around and seeing all the little different things that were there like the small animals and
people and I just remember having a lot of fun. I think that when I went on that ride I just felt so
happy since I had never experienced something like that before. I remember when I was little
wanting to one day go to Disneyland again and having the experience to go there at least once.
Going on that ride made me happy as I realized I had finally achieved my goal.
1/17/2024

The image of the house reminds me of Christmas. I think it looks very festive and it gives me the
vibes of Home Alone, the movie. It seems that the image depicts a very light and airy time. I
think that I am not too sure on what to write but just that I like the image. I think that whenever I
am going somewhere I try to not be late. I hate when I am late since I think that it can look bad
when I am meeting someone so I always try to be there on time. However, there are times
where I think I am running late but I am not. I think that when I am at home with my family I tend
to be a little late when getting ready as we are going out. I need to break out of this cycle since I
don’t really like getting to places late. I think that the reason I don’t like being late is because it
can kind of attract attention towards you. For example, if I arrive late to a class and I don’t get
there on time, people tend to look at who has arrived late. I am a little shy and so I don’t like
when the attention is on me or when people are staring since it makes me very nervous. During
this weekend, it was a really eventful one since my baby sister was born. I am very happy now
that she is born.

1/22/24

When I was doing the mindfulness activity I felt that I was very tense. I am feeling very tired
today and just so sleepy since I was not able to sleep as much as I wanted and I also had a
very early class in the morning. I was also feeling a little cold due to the weather. I felt that my
head kind of hurt a little bit when I was examining it. There was some tension that I noticed I
was feeling. I also felt as though when I went to examine my head again I felt a little bit more at
ease and calm. I felt that the deep breathing helped me calm down and feel better than I initially
was feeling earlier. I am also not too sure on what to write about now but I think that the cat on
the screen is very cute. I think that I currently want to get a cat or a bunny as a pet. -

1/24/24

No thank you, I don't really want to do anything. No thank you, I don’t feel like talking. No thank
you, I don’t want to keep writing. No, thank you there is nothing else I want to do. No thank you,
I really would like to be alone. No thank you, I just want to be back again where I was a few
years ago. No thank you, I want time to keep on going slow. No thank you, I would like to please
keep speaking to you. No thank you, I want to hear your voice again and talk to you because I
miss you guys. No thank you, I want to be eating your homemade food. No thank you, I don’t
want to really be separated from my family. No thank you, I would rather be with my family right
now. No thank you, can I please go and see this new movie? No thank you, I would rather be at
home with my new sister! No thank you, no thank you no thank you, I really don’t know what I
want to write. No thank you, I don’t really like going out. No thank you, I really do not want to
take exams. No thank you, I'm really worried about school.

1/29/24
Some of the things that I heard were the doors opening and closing from the classrooms. I also
heard the clicking sounds from the door and I could also hear footsteps activity and I could also
hear people talking. One of the other things that I could hear was the breeze and the sound of
the wind. I could see the people walking, I could see the trees, the stairs and I could see birds.
There were also many buildings around me which I saw were mostly the same peach color.
Some of the things that I could touch were the floor with my feet, the railing of the stairs and
also the door handles. I couldn't really smell anything besides the bad breath and also the
sound of the air. I also couldn’t really taste anything but the taste of the orange juice that I had a
while earlier. The woman in the picture looks like she is really relaxed. It makes me think of
when I wanted to live in the city.

WAW Ch3 Discussion Questions:

1. In Chap. 3 of Writing About Writing, Wardle and Downs state that conversational inquiry
is about “having a question, trying to answer the question, and telling people about your
investigation.” They further explain that “To write research is to recount your experiences
exploring a question or problem, and sharing experiences is something everyone can
do.”

In your writing journal, recount your experiences exploring your question or

problem so far.

When I was exploring my question, I didn’t really have a difficult time choosing a topic. I
would say that looking through the examples of the topics of conversation really helped
me because I was able to see the topics and get an idea of what was being talked about.
I would say that looking for resources for people who speak English I was able to learn
more about what some of the tools were for people who were second English learners.

2. Chap. 3 also introduces the concept of CARS: Creating A Research Space. To create a
research space, authors will provide background information on the topic and show there
is a conversation going on, demonstrate that there is a need for more research (a gap in
research), and then talk about their research project and how it will fill the gap in
research.

Reflect on the articles you have read so far and in your writing journal, describe
how you have seen authors creating a research space in their articles. This
doesn’t have to be detailed - do your best to write from memory, though if you
want to review PB 1.2, you can.

The articles that I have read so far talk about TESOL and how schools are implementing
different types of strategies for students whose primary language is not English. The
authors would create a research space in their classroom and conduct some sort of
research. One of the articles that I had read talked about how there was a theory method
that was created for students, however, there was a problem with the way that teachers
were teaching English language learning students since they wouldn’t really learn that
much due to the teachers focusing on their own ideas and not the studentsy. Many of the
 things that I had found I saw were connected and I noticed that the research methods
were the same and that they were pretty similar.

1/31/24

When I think of silences I think of peace. When there is no sound there is nothing that can
distract me and I feel at peace. I usually think of those scenes in the movies where the
character is sitting on a big land with flowing grass, with the corners of the grass being
overturned by the wind and it's just so long. The characters sit on the big piece of grass where
it's overflowing and she lays down and the big tree is on the side giving her some shade. That is
one thing that I feel I want to experience, sitting on the big piece of grass land that's overflowed
with beautiful flowers on a day in spring. Another thing that I feel when I think of silence is when
I am taking a test. The sound of a pin drop could be heard. The sounds in a lecture hall during a
test include the instructors saying that time is almost up and to make sure that your name is on
the paper. The anxiety of taking a test takes over me and I sit there as I remember what exactly
we had learned. When I think of space, I think of when I wanted to go to space. There was a
time in my childhood when I wanted to be an astronaut.

In-Class Writing Journal

The last conversation that I had was with my friend yesterday afternoon. We were talking about
a topic regarding school and how we have been so stressed recently. When we started talking
we realized that we were jumping from one thing to another and in the end we started laughing
cause we were wondering how we got to the topic that we were currently talking about. Every
time I have a conversation with someone new I think that usually we will keep talking or we will
talk for sometime and then there will be a pause. Compared to conversations that I will have in a
workplace or with a professor I will usually be more carefree and not as strict and professional
sounding. When I talk to people, their status usually will determine the politeness that I talk to
them. However with people that I know I won’t be that polite or use terms like mrs. or ms. since
we will usually joke around and laugh. I have conversations with people all over in my life.
Sometimes I talk to professors, TA’s, friends, boss and my parents. I think that when I talk to
someone the more I know them and talk to them then the more strict we won’t be in using terms
that are polite. With people I barely meet I will be more cautious and not as comfortable.
However, that is not to say that I am not respectful to others. I always am to whoever I am
talking to.

Characteristics (in class notes):

People share their experiences

Personal/Individual
Active listening - engaging / connection / paying attention
Communication two way communication reciprocity - people give and receive
Asking Questions
Connective / horizontal / what a network would look like
Sporadic - covers multiple topics
Disagreement - Wanting to understand / being curious → agree to disagree
Tone - can be energized, respectful, self - regulated
Is conversation deeper than small talk?
Depth to conversation
Taking the topics deeper and deeper - achieving a deeper understanding together

Where do conversations take place:

Over meals, coffee

The car
The phone
On zoom
Social Media
Parties
In your head…
Networking event / event
Academic conferences
Invited vs. impromptu conversations

2/5/24

I am worried about my upcoming midterm, which is tomorrow. I am also worried about the
midterm that I have next week. The reason I am more worried about next week's midterm is
because I feel like that class has a lot of terms and I have to memorize them all. Right now I am
very cold and I am feeling shivers down my spine because of the weather. I just feel tired as well
but also relieved that today I won’t have to go out to my classes in this cold weather. I feel like I
can manage my time better since I don’t have to worry about making time to walk to class.
Recently, I have been avoiding reviewing sociology. I am very scared to see how I will do. This
week I am going home which I am very excited about, however it worries me because I feel like
I will have less time to study since I am going to be traveling back home for an appointment that
I have. So I am happy but also worried that I will be wasting some time that I could be studying.

If I was creating a conversation, I feel like the ideas that would connect would include second
order thinking. The reason that I feel it would connect is because the researchers try to strive for
logic and accuracy and when they don’t meet these expectations then they say what the
limitations they encountered are. As a writer, I would try to strive for accuracy because I would
not want to misinform my readers. I would also want my writing to be concise so that readers
know accurately what I am trying to say. I would not want my writing to sound messy or like I
don’t know what I am saying. Some of the approaches that are new for me would be the main
concept of first order thinking and second order thinking. Before, I did not really know what
these meant but after reading the article I have basically understood that they are opposites.
2/12/24

The picture reminds me of when I went back home during winter break and I got to see my
family. I remember that the week before I had left, I was at home with my family and my dad was
saying that we should go hiking as a family. I still remember that I was half asleep and my dad
was telling me if I wanted to go with them. I agreed and my mom, my sister, my brother and my
dad also went. During this family outing day I remember that we had a hard time looking for a
place to hike and so in the end my dad took us close to the beach where we live. When we got
to the beach my dad took us to this place where it was by the highway and people were
climbing up this sandy mountain. Looking at the picture reminds me of when we were at the
beach and my family hiked up and we saw the mountain. It was very nice and calm and I
remember sitting on this sandy mountain and right across from me I could see the beach. It was
very calming and nice. It felt nice to be with family after some time so I was really enjoying being
on the beach.

1/12/24

Some of the concepts that were reflected in my experience in Project 1 is that in the project I got
to see that the more value that I take in my work, the more meaningful it becomes for me. For
example, since I got to choose what I wanted to research more about, I think that the project
was a lot easier for me to do and it didn’t feel like I was doing something that was boring. I think
that after seeing what the scholars were talking about I got to expand my knowledge and learn
more about what I was doing.

Towards the beginning of going into project one I did not know what to really think. I was very
lost in what we were doing and it felt as if I had no clue what I was doing. It was the first time
that I had done this type of project where it required looking at what the scholars were talking
about. I think that after looking through the conversations it became easier for me to understand
what we were doing.

1/14/24

Yesterday was a very fun day. It started off stressful though since I had to take a midterm at 9:30
in the morning. However, since the midterm was in the beginning of the day, the rest of the day I
felt as though I could relax and have some fun! I ended up going to this seminar and this event
for law school which was very informative. I also ended up learning more about some of the
ways that I could finance law school. It was a very interesting presentation which made me learn
more about law school. After going to the presentation I ended up going to the movies with my
friend. We watched a really good movie and ate some snacks! We also ended up getting a quick
bite to eat which was very fun! We ended the night off by getting some ice cream as well! Today
was also fun since I woke up early to go with friends to get the free stuffed animals that ASBP
was giving away.
1/21/24

One of the things that I focused on when I was outside was the leaves on the tree. It made me
feel calm since the trees and the leaves on it just feel calm and not as much seems to worry
them. I feel that there was a sort of peacefulness just being outside and feeling the wind and the
way that the leaves move back and forth between each other. Looking at the picture, I
remember when I was working in the fields and I was picking raspberries and then I had an
encounter with a coyote. It was very terrifying but thankfully it was in the middle of where I was
passing and also we had just arrived to pick berries at that block so there were lots of people
around. This could’ve scared the coyote away. I also remember working in the fields with my
mom and we would arrive early before anyone else since me and my mom didn't drive and so
my dad would drop us off early since he works in Moorpark and it’s far away from where we live.
My dad would need to also drop us off early and I remember that the sun was barely rising and I
could hear the sound of the coyotes in the morning howling. I also remember one time I was
walking to school and since it was an hour away walking, I would have to wake up early and
also because I had 0 period so there was no bus at that time. Because of this, I remember that
on my way to school I would pass the strawberry fields and I encountered a coyote once on my
way to school. Thankfully it didn’t see me and I was able to get to school without encountering
the coyote.

Part 2:

Communities that I am a part of:

EOP, ACE Writing 2, Lantinx community, Indigenous community, Undergraduate Mentorship

Program, LEAD, SOW,

The community of the UMP program engages in providing mindful activities to the students. In
this program that I am in we are paired with peer mentors and they help us regarding some of
the things that we need help on. We also have weekly meetings with mentors where we engage
in oral communication in ways that we can strategize how to do well in university. With my
mentor, I also work on writing down some of the things that I should be doing. I am also part of
the indigenous club on campus called CPOD where we engage in conversations about our
indigenous communities and we talk about some of the issues going on in the world in these
communities.

2/26/24

While listening to this piece of music I felt a sense of happiness because I know this kpop group
and I really enjoy listening to their songs. I think that they have a lot of good beats in their songs
and it is also just a very overall playful and fun song. I noticed that the song was very upbeat
and it felt like the song was just very relaxing. I think that this song is good since it’s just a very
playful song and overall I really enjoyed listening to it. Some of my thoughts while I was listening
to this piece of sound was that it must be very calm and the girls are just singing about their
feelings. I felt my mood lightened up after listening to NewJeans and I think that this song in
particular always makes me feel more happy and it’s just a very exciting song to listen to. I think
that the guitar reminds me of the covers that one of the members did, particularly Hanni who
played the guitar while singing the song. I am not so sure what song she covered since I had
forgotten.

Threshold Concept:

At the moment, one of the assignments that has been difficult for me is learning how to
use Wikipedia. I think that even with the training, there is just so much information to gather and
learn that it’s a little overwhelming. I do think that at some points the training can also be
confusing since I don’t exact;y always know what it’s referring to. I would say that another
assignment that was a little difficult for me as well was creating the final draft for Project 1. I
thought that it was going to be easy, however, after receiving peer feedback I am now worried
that the final outcome won’t be so good. As we are moving on, my perspective about the
Wikipedia project has started to change. Now, I can see the vision come to life of what I am
doing. I think that even though there are some things that I am confused about.

2/28/24

Something that I have learned through doing mindfulness activities this quarter is that they are
really beneficial and that they actually help me in realizing what I am feeling and what I am
experiencing. I think that the mindfulness activities have also helped me in doing a quick check
in myself and realize how I am feeling. It has also served as a distresser for me since it helps
me bring myself to the ground. I think that the mindfulness activities have been really helpful
because they overall help me in checking in. I think that because of the mindfulness activities I
am able to feel more relaxed in myself. I have also learned through myself that it is never too
late to try out new things. I actually have not done mindfulness activities since freshman year
high school and I forgot how helpful they have been.

I think that today I am feeling very stressed. One thing that I am glad about though is that I at
least presented my teacher draft. I am so glad that I was able to make my vision come to life
and that it was a good project. After hearing about some of the things that I need to improve on,
I am confident that I can make it better now after hearing the feedback that was given to me. I
also am thinking already of how I can make my portfolio and in this project I will make sure to
showcase my ideas better. I am also feeling nervous today. Although I am not so sure why yet. I
think that it probably has to do with all the stress that I am going through because I feel that I
should’ve already finished my second paper for anthropology but I haven’t. I am stressed
because I need my TA to review it and make sure that it is good but I am not even done. The
goal today is to present my paper to CLAS and get some feedback on how I can improve my
paper. I also feel stressed because I am going home this weekend. I want to really go home
since I have felt homesick and I won’t be able to go until finals end.
3/4/24

I have heard about body scan meditation. Right now I am feeling a bit sad and overwhelmed.
There are just a lot of things going on in my life and I feel a little stressed about next year. I got
really stressed when I initially got the email that I would not be offered housing at the school but
instead at the Tropicana Gardens. This stressed me out because I am already thinking of the
environment and it just made me feel overwhelmed. I was planning to dorm with my friend
however now that is not possible since I did not get offered a housing contract. I think that just
thinking about how I have to think about who my new roommates are and what the situation will
be like is very overwhelming. I then talked to my mom because every time that I talk to her she
is able to reason out why and what I can do to not feel overwhelmed. I think that after talking
with her I am now feeling better since I know that it will be ok and that it will also be temporary. I
now feel a little calmer, however still stressed. I am also stressed because I feel that I won’t be
calm until after I start living there. I don’t know how to feel.

I think that after hearing of Maya’s experiences she mainly focuses on what some of the
experiences that she had with project 1 and project 2. Maya says that project 2 helped her with
seeing that she is capable of inserting herself into the online discourse community of writing.
She decided to not only talk about what some of her experiences were but also that she wanted
to write about identities that were hers and not from the Anglo-European view. Imposter
syndrome can be tied with self efficacy.

Project 3: Reflection

Read the reading journal and writing journal and make notes/comments
Read weekly reflections and make notes / comments about common themes / highlight
Maybe freewrite for 5 minutes and see if you have more to say of stop and start another day
Maybe start downloading stuff from your Google Doc and putting it into a portfolio page
Maybe do some more freewriting
Put your reflections in chatGPT and ask it to look for themes and patterns. Then look for
yourself and write about one of the themes and patterns

Portfolio:
Find a website to use
Create an account if you need one
Start downloading your work / get your work into the platform
Start designing your pages

- “Pieces will start to fit together and we begin to develop a sense of understanding and
then communicate that.”
- Black Studies helped her and she took that to another level
3/11/24

I would say that I am proud of myself for coming to class everyday for each of my classes this
quarter. I am also proud of myself because I am almost going to get through this quarter and I
feel like I am definitely doing way better than I did last quarter. This quarter one of the things
that I did differently was that I approached TA’s and I wasn’t afraid to talk to them. Last quarter I
only talked to a TA for two of the courses, however, I reached out to them towards the end of the
quarter when I knew I wasn’t doing as well. This quarter I joined two mentorship programs and
although they are both different, I would say that I enjoy both of them since both of my mentors
were able to help me and guide in different ways to approach problems that I was having. I
would say that overall, this quarter has been way easier on me in terms of academics and
mentally. Last quarter, I had a more difficult time since I struggled with homesickness and I
wasn’t so sure of how I was going to end up doing. I didn’t do as well but I just don’t want to give
up since my family is depending on me.

- Word doc
- Go back enough to be able and provide context, not too much back
- You can get both those things together
- The three sources are the readings we have done
- You can say I go more detail in my portfolio
- Freewriting, Jen Wells, writing about writing, discourse communities, autoethnography
video
- Sources can be second order thinking
- Go back to notes and see what you wrote if you can make any connections
- Second order thinking
- Tell story first and then go and add the sources
- Write draft and then go back to it
- You don't have to talk about all part of dispositions but maybe
- Abstract concepts can help us
- Ladder of abstraction can help with writing
- In writing itself it can be concrete
- In writing you want to move up and down the ladder of abstraction
- Reference page if you cite
- MLA or APA fine

Portfolio:
- Don't throw materials on a page
- Provide some context and how far back are you gonna go
- Why have you selected these items and what do they mean?
- Structures: Introduction (say hi & welcome), Project 3 first and then pages can provide
concrete detailed evidence
- People need to be told the significance of the page and importance
 - People have different interpretations, so control how they see the links but provide the
context and connect it to the story that you are telling in project 3
- The work comes together by telling your story

3/13/24

The picture is what I think I will write about although I am not sure since I will probably also talk
about other things. In the image it seems to be a canoe and I wonder where the people are
traveling to. They probably have a destination set in place or maybe not since they could get
lost if they go too far beyond the shoreline. The image reminds me of when I was doing my
anthropology paper and I had to go sightseeing outside and I remember seeing a line of canoes.
The line of canoes was people who were in the ocean. I remember that I went out to the ocean
for my project because I had to go observe the ocean and see what people were doing and to
analyze their behavior. However, I distinctly remember that it was so weird seeing the people in
a distinct line since they were out in the ocean and I remember thinking that it also looked cool.
I think that one of the things that I am good at is probably writing more than math. Math has
never really been my strength since I feel like learning to calculate numbers was always
something that was hard for me. However, I have always enjoyed reading and writing more. I do
think however that over the years my passion for english has decreased since I no longer find
any books that interesting. I also haven’t really written a lot.