I didn’t do anything much to prepare for this exam. During the exam itself I looked at the prompt and requirements and prepared a list of points I wanted to include in each paragraph. This way I wouldn’t be stuck thinking of what I should write about for each paragraph, but I had a rough idea of how it should be organized. I did struggle with what I actually wanted to write, because even though I knew what I wanted to say I didn’t know how to say it, and the time was also stressing me out. In order to combat this I would jump between paragraphs so I wouldn’t have to waste time thinking about what I wanted to write. Later I would then go back to what I was struggling on and because I had the rest of my essay developed it made it easier to make the points I wanted to make. I think I did well overall in terms of how much I wrote and what I wrote but I think I can improve on the way the information was presented. Oftentimes when I am under pressure it is hard to write the information the way I want it to be read. When it comes to what I hope to work on in my writing in general I feel like I struggle sometimes in the organization of my ideas. While I know what I want to write, I want it to be easy for the reader to follow what I have to say.

For the in class discussion I read the story and tried to think about what Machado’s intention was in writing this text. I also tried to come up with things I disagreed with in her writing and incorporate it into the discussion questions. I think the peer led discussion went well because everyone in the group was able to provide good questions for the class to answer, and that provided good conversation. In terms of how I think I did, I wanted to focus more on the broader point that Machado was trying to make and how it applies to us as a society. Since we had to talk about Eight Bites I wanted the class to consider body image as a whole and whether or not they agree with the point Machado was trying to make. I also wanted to question the text itself as a way to see if people agreed with Machado’s overall message to the readers. This prepared me for my in class essay because speaking was similar to the in class essay in the sense that you don’t have much time to organize your ideas and whatever is spoken is already said out loud and it cannot be edited or changed. In this way presenting or speaking might be harder because it has to be coherent in order to be understood. We had to write and say more for our in class essay so knowing what you want to say can help you further expand it and give you time to perfect your wording. 

Machado’s world is a reflection of what it is like for many women who suffer with body image in the modern day. The protagonist was constantly thinking about her body and the way that she looked which resulted in an unhealthy relationship with food. While it is ok to want to change the way your body looks, there is a difference between doing it in a healthy way that benefits you in the long run and engaging in unhealthy habits which inhibit one’s happiness. There is a trend in society today where weight loss medications and surgeries are being pushed onto people. While many might say that these are the wrong ways to lose weight because the work isn’t being put in, you could also argue that people who go to the gym also practice toxic habits. For example, someone who goes to the gym 6-7 days a week who is super active might look at themself and think they look disgusting while in reality they are in perfect shape. This might result in the use of steroids or stricter diets in order to achieve those unrealistic goals. This isn’t to say someone should just go on and do surgery, but in a broader sense not everyone is going to be happy with the way you look so it only matters what you think about yourself. This is shown with the guilt the protagonist feels after the surgery and the way her daughter criticized her due to them having the same body. While it did make her daughter feel bad, it wasn’t about her and if her mother wanted to change the way she looked because she wasn’t happy that is ok. Despite this the protagonist should learn to love her body with or without surgery because even if she has the most perfect body, unless she truly thinks highly of herself she will never see that. 

When thinking about what I wanted to write for my Op-Ed I wanted to focus on a topic that I was passionate about while focusing on topics that were important to what is going on in America at the moment. When doing the rhetorical analysis assignment on other Op-Eds I was more interested in finding articles that opposed my position rather than supporting it. This way I would be able to have more knowledge on the other side’s viewpoints. In this case I picked an Op-Ed about anti-abortion and the way that the movement has changed and been shaped over decades. Through this I was able to see it from their point of view. It inspired me to want to write an Op-Ed about pregnant women and the mistreatment they face due to the healthcare system, along with how it affects them financially. With this topic I was able to address abortion while also touching on a broader topic being about the state of America’s healthcare system. I wanted to emphasize that while many republicans push for a higher birth rate in America and say they want to support the mother and the child, it is very contradictory because it is hard to even pay in order to birth a child. I wanted the audience to consider the fact that abortion shouldn’t be something a woman is ashamed of because many women struggle already with surviving on their own, and having a child on top of that doesn’t benefit either of them. Healthcare is an important topic to me personally because I have heard many similar stories of people choosing rent for one more month over pills and medication they need. Due to not having access to that, it leads to serious complications with their illnesses or even death. I am someone who has to take medication for epilepsy, and as someone who has struggled with seizures and other complications I am fortunate that I can pay for my medication. I can’t imagine what it’s like for someone who has the same condition as me, and how hard it would be for them to survive. 

When writing essays I usually struggle with the research part of it because there is a lot of information to keep track of. I liked that I was able to pick my own topic for this reason because I was able to have an opinion while supporting my points with actual evidence and statistics. I didn’t want my essay to sound like a report so I tried to impose a lot of my own personal opinions and views while also asking questions to the audience in order to provide thought provoking ideas. For me, starting to write is the most intimidating part of writing in general. I often feel intimidated by the requirements of the assignment and it makes me want to avoid writing the assignment all together. In order to combat this I try to organize the topics I am going to write about for each paragraph. The order in which I talk about these topics is important because it also allows me to plan ahead of time how I am able to control the way the writing flows. Again I try to avoid the essay or in this case the Op-Ed sounding like a report so the way I transition into new topics is important. 

Overall I did enjoy writing this Op-Ed because it allowed me to write about things that were important to me personally, while also allowing me to address political conflicts going on in the country right now.

In the beginning of the story we are introduced to a narrator who is giving details of people she’s slept with. This was confusing and honestly quite boring because it didn’t really seem like there was any plot. Later on in the story we see how there is an outbreak of some sort of disease, that we as the reader don’t get too much detail about. When I think of an outbreak I think supplies, food, water, etc. So this being the case my original assumption was that the whole story would be based on the need to survive in a setting where there might not be as many resources left. Based on this one might need to keep an inventory on the little resources they have. In spite of this though, with the flow of how the story was being written this being almost every paragraph starting with “One man” or “One woman” it is almost as if the narrator is listing the people she slept with along with details about them. I noticed the hesitation of the narrator to get closer to these people. Even those who wanted to pursue a more personal relationship with her. It dehumanizes these people and gives the sense that sex is not a very personal intimate thing to her, as it might be to some people. Even in the initial isolation she puts herself in being on an island in a small cabin. This might show her state of mind. Despite being visited by so many people she chooses to live a lonely life. So I think while some might interpret the title “Inventory” to be about a woman keeping track of the supplies she has in a time of crisis, by the way she acts with these people I think instead of the inventory being objects the people she is with are the “objects.” Maybe she sees these people as just bodies to sleep with. 

I found The Husband Stitch to be a very entertaining read. While it seems as if they are passionate about each other, throughout the story there is a feeling like there is something off about the husband. As the years go on we as the reader notice how he becomes increasingly impatient about knowing why she keeps the ribbon around her neck. Even as the reader, although The Girl with The Green Ribbon is a story I knew as a child my curiosity of why she kept it on peaked increasingly throughout the novel. 

While the husband may not be overtly abusive in the traditional sense it is seen how he repeatedly ignores her boundaries, for example when it came to stitching her up after she gave birth or his constant attempts throughout the story to remove her ribbon. I also noticed the way their child changed throughout the story. As a small child he was very innocent and didn’t really mind her ribbon, seeing it as a part of her. As he grew up though, I presume through the influence of his father he began to insist on knowing why she had the ribbon around her neck.

 I think the child in the story is essential because while the story is through the eyes of the woman we have insight of what it may have been like for the husband to grow up, or a stereotypical man in society. The way she describes her son’s personality changing as he got older, how he became more opinionated in the stories she told him as well as him eventually finding a girl that he loved and wanted to marry made her reminisce about her own husband when they were younger. 

Although it isn’t explicitly said the year this story was set in, I had the feeling it was during an older time period due to her unwavering obedience to her husband, as well as the young age they got married. While I thought she would eventually stand up to her husband she only gets assertive when he touches her ribbon. This makes sense towards the end because if not for her resistance she would have died, essentially because the ribbon was the only thing keeping her head on her shoulders. I find knowing this fact now to be kind of absurd because it is as if she will only defend herself when it comes to something which is essentially keeping her alive. 

In terms of the end scene, I was excited because she finally unveiled why she kept the ribbon around her neck. Although it isn’t necessarily realistic for a ribbon to be the only thing keeping your head on I think the symbolism behind the green ribbon it is primarily about women having control over their bodily autonomy, and consent, this being something that can be ignored, even by people that love us. I really loved the way this story was written and I didn’t mind that there wasn’t much detail like names of the characters. I also found it very ironic that while reading a short scary story the narrator herself was telling various short scary stories. 

I wrote this essay because I have always loved horror, even as a young child. I noticed as I got older there were many varying opinions shared amongst horror fans. This interested me because there were many times I would see reviews for a new movie being super hyped up, then watching the movie I think it was absolutely terrible. There are also movies or even horror games which I think will not live up to the hype, but after experiencing them I become completely addicted. Theorizing or looking for hidden meanings in these works are what I feel make them so interesting.

 In terms of how long it took me to write the essay, It took me about an hour or two to write the essay, mainly planning out the format as well as how it would be organized. The process I used while writing this essay was mainly coming up with what topics I wanted to address, and mapping out which paragraphs I’d address them in. I also liked to pick a more quiet and dark atmosphere to write in which is usually why I like to write at night. 

While planning out the content I wanted to discuss I focused more on how there are differing opinions amongst those in the horror community and how despite these differences we are all bought together with the fact that we like the genre. I also focused on how those who are not part of the community see it, and how they may not understand why it might be entertaining. I expressed how in my case it is more than the scare that intrigues me, it is also about the hidden meanings a viewer may not be able to catch upon experiencing for the first time. I also like seeing the way people interpret the writing itself, going into a deeper analysis of the topic.

When it comes to my writing overall I would have liked to improve the transition between paragraphs more because I think it jumps too quickly between topics. This is something I struggle a lot with essays in general and I feel like my points really start to come together when I have more organized writing ideas, and transitions.

I like the drafting process because it is very satisfying comparing the first draft to the final. I like receiving feedback from my friends and peers on my writing of what I should add or take away, because it gives insight into what your audience would like you to expand more on. After reading my first draft I usually don’t know what to change in my writing, but after taking a break from it for a couple hours to even days, I can come back and see a lot of changes that have to be made. 

I enjoyed writing this essay because usually in a lot of assignments I’ve written throughout college there is a specific topic that the professor wants you to address. I liked that this is more personalized and it is based on something that a student might be passionate about, outside of school. 

 While reading this chapter on Richmond, Virginia a quote I found interesting was, “While the kids would be tempted to approach this mysterious wagon and investigate it, they were told by adults that inside was “Dry Head and Bloody Bones.” I thought about this paragraph of the reading as if I were in the shoes of Florida Clayton telling the story. As a child I was really intrigued with ghosts or anything paranormal. So hearing this would probably temp me more into wanting to see what is inside the wagon, despite the fact that I know I ultimately wouldn’t out of fear. Parents using monsters and ghosts as a means to protect their children is a widely known concept but I think the reality especially in this instance is scarier than a ghost. The idea that you could be kidnapped and sold off to be a slave, possibly never seeing your family again is the truth of what happened to many people. I don’t think a child would be able to fully comprehend this so telling them a ghost would come and kill them is much easier and faster to explain. Fear and storytelling shape a child’s understanding of danger because it teaches them to be cautious of the unknown and warns them about being reckless. This method of warning children plays an emotional toll on parents because they have to ensure the wellbeing of the child in a time where there is constant harassment and racism, something a child would not fully understand. In addition ghost stories might help parents transform the reality into something more manageable. 

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