I’m not sure what I want to write about yet but the three prompts I’ve chosen so far are 1, 3, and 4.

1.An experience where I was “displaced” would be when I moved from Corona to East Elmhurst when I was seven years old.

3.A place that’s meaningful to me is a restaurant in Astoria called “Ricky’s Cafe.”

4.Lastly, how shifting from Spanish and English on a daily basis has shaped me my life.

1. One of the subjects I would like to tackle in regards to displacement would be the time I transitioned from middle school to high school. Why I would bring this up would be because my middle school experience was rough and I was experiencing this I couldn’t comprehend at the time. Those experiences then shaped my vision and the actions I would take in high school and then on.
2. Another subject I would like to possibly bring up would be my trip to California. This was a crucial part of my life because I have never really left New York to a place so tropical and farm-like. My trip to California shaped the type of dream life I am trying to achieve now. I would be describing the differences between the city life here and over there while also discussing how it had shaped my thought of comfort and fun.
3. The final subject I could possibly choose would be my perception of people who do not speak English across my life. What I mean would be discussing how I viewed people who could not speak english since I was the age of 6, earliest I could remember, to present day.

1. Describe an experience in which you were “displaced”- In the fourth grade, my school placed me into a specialized Bilingual program where the principal language in which students learned core class material (english, math, science, and social studies) was Spanish instead of English. ( this was not ESL, but rather a “specialized” program offered to native speakers who wanted to enrich their second language.) Before this grade level, I had never taken a reading or writing class in Spanish . Transitioning into an environment where the only time we were allowed to speak English was for our “additional language” class (as they called it) really affected the way I Interacted and socialized with others. It was definitely a year where I felt challenged and often out of place, especially because I wasn’t comfortable or  used to speaking in a language that wasn’t english for most of the school day.
2. Exploring a place that is meaningful to you- VSPAC, my community’s dance studio, is meaningful to me because its a place where I grew up in that allowed me to explore a hobby I found great interest in . It is also the place that introduced me to my childhood best friends which I still keep frequent communication with today.
3. Explore your own relationship with language- “Spanglish” is a language that I would consider myself to identify with most. Growing up, my parents and friends  often spoke sentences that combined both languages together, which I eventually learned and picked up. I grew up with Spanglish and it continues to be a part of my daily vocabulary.

I’ve chosen prompts one, three and four.

For prompt one, I wanted to talk about how although I am before Dominica and American, I personally feel as if I do not belong in either of the cultures. I have to force myself to act a certain way so that I can have a sense of belonging.

For prompt three, I would talk about my room. How my room, to me, is my safe haven and I feel like i belong or that I can at least feel like I belong. For this prompt I am not entirely sure if I can make it into three pages.

For prompt four, I would discuss about all the different “languages” that I speak. Ranging from “ghetto” English to “proper” Spanish depending on my environment and who I am speaking to.

I have not chosen a specific prompt, but I do have one for each prompt excluding the fourth one.

1. Being forced to leave my childhood area or home and go into the shelter.

2. Edenwald, the beginning and framing of my life.

3. Transitioning from a middle school that was close to home, comprised of almost everyone from my elementary school and majority Black, to a high school that I had to travel to and comprised of no one that I knew and majority Hispanic.

These are the possible topics I may choose for the first essay. So far,  I have an idea of what I may write about for each of the subjects.

1. Describing a leave-taking – In high-school I had taken a break for a period of time and was temporarily discharged from the school.
2. Exploring a place that is meaningful to me– Where I grew up is meaningful to me since it’s what influenced a lot of factors in my life such as what school I went to or who I met. It’s shaped me into who I am today.
3. Exploring my relationship to language – Growing up I was exposed to many “languages” such as “Spanglish”, as well as what others told me was “Ghetto” and “White” English.

3-5 pages, 12pt. type, double-spaced

Draft Due: Wednesday, Feb. 17th in class.  Bring 3 copies of your draft with you to class.

Essay Due: Uploaded to turnitin.com by 11p.m. on Sunday, February 21st.

For this first formal writing assignment, respond to one of the following prompts.  Remember that in order to be successful, a personal essay must be rich in detail.  As you draft and revise, be careful not to fall back on generic formulations, clichés, or banalities.  Think about anchoring your essay in a particular small anecdote or example.    A successful essay will read as if only YOU could have authored it!

Describe an experience in which you (or your family) were “displaced.”  What was it like to move into a new and unfamiliar space, either literally or metaphorically?  What significance did this displacement hold for you? What happened? What was your experience like?  What issues were raised for you by this transition?
Describe a leave-taking that you have experienced.  Again, this could be literal or metaphoric.  What were you separated from and why?  Dig deep to figure out the emotional, psychological, or cultural significance of your leave-taking experience.
Explore a place that is meaningful to you (a la Andre Aciman.)  What layers of memory or emotion are encapsulated for you in this particular place?  What narrative(s) does this place connect to for you? What is the relationship between this place and the larger narrative of your life?
Using Tan and Rodriguez as your jumping off point, explore your own relationship to language.  What different “languages” do you speak?  What does it mean to move between or among different linguistic modes?  How do these languages reflect or express the various aspects of your self?

I am very excited to be working with all of you this semester and to be incorporating this blog into our studies.  I will be using the blog to post assignments, link to our readings, and make announcements, so be sure to check the blog regularly!  Additionally, you will be sharing your work and ideas with the class via this blog at various points during the semester.   You should also be aware that this is a public site, so anything you post here will also be available to readers outside of our class.  I am a blogging novice, so please be patient with me as I  get acquainted with this platform.  I think it’s going to be a wonderful extension of our classroom space.  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected]

Looking forward to a great semester,

Jennifer Sylvor