Author: Athan Koek

I decided to choose an image from 2017 that I took during one of my occasional walks along Rockefeller Park after school. In the iPhone settings, I decreased the contrast and increased both the saturation and brightness of the image in order to create a sense of vibrance depicted by the shadows casted over the buildings while the bright clouds loom over them. I also cropped out the railings to put more emphasis on the light and shadows of the image. I tend to go on these walks as a way to clear my head. The image of the slow-moving waves, gleaming setting sun, and glorified clouds had always been a calming sight for me. The shadows cast upon the buildings had only emphasized the beauty of the sky and clouds. In a way, the message of this photo could be to provide a sense of hope for better things to come as represented by the contrasting light between the buildings and clouds/sky.

The strategy I attempted to exercise was strategy no. 1: “To Say Something Better.” One of the lingering issues I have with the current iteration of my draft is my lack of properly explained claims or ideas. Including my thesis statement, many of the ideas/topics I mentioned or planned on mentioning have yet to be fleshed out. With that in mind, I thought that strategy no.1 would be most beneficial in my case. Isolating a single topic and trying to develop it as best as possible could be a good way to clear my thoughts and allow me to see a clearer picture of how the idea will fit into the overall essay. In the case of my thesis claim, although I most likely won’t be using the developed paragraph, the strategy helped me formulate a potential plan in which I could structure/organize my ideas.

Keeanga-Yamanhatta Taylor’s article, “Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and the Limits of Representation,” portrays the misrepresentation of people of color, specifically African American women, in the U.S. on a social, economic, and political scale. In recent times, we were able to witness the appointment of the United State’s first African and Asian American woman vice president: Kamala Harris. As groundbreaking as this might be, Taylor’s article gives insight on this matter that dives deeper than “the celebrations of symbolic firsts.” As noted in the article, given Biden’s past/rich history of demonizing Black children as “predators on our streets” and sacrificing low-income Black women for political gain, it’s ironic that he was the one to appoint Kamala Harris to this position. Accounting for all this only accentuates Biden’s decision as another calculated, political decision in which he would benefit and gain popularity from. Regardless of his reasoning, this decision propagates the idea of representation into the minds of many citizens. As the article notes, “Black women are, in general, one of the most oppressed and marginalized groups in the United States,” so it’s reasonable to be hopeful of Kamala Harris rising to the vice presidency position. However, this is where the issue of “limits of representation” arises. The abundance of factors to consider in regards to the limitations of representation such as race, gender, social class, and experience make it all the more difficult to truly have the voices of everyone heard. There is so much to account for, but not enough information or understanding to do so. In the case of Kamala Harris, she may be a black female in a position of power, but that does not immediately mean she’ll be able to properly represent “Black women and others stuck at the bottom of the American social order,” nor does it mean she can’t do so. Politicians/officials from all different walks of life may advocate for revolutionary policies, but ultimately it’s their actions that will speak for them and the people they wish to represent, which is a tough task in itself.

From a young age, one of the first few questions we are asked is the following: “what do you want to be when you grow up?”  While most children push such a thought to the side, this question slowly appears more often in different shapes and forms as we age. Eventually, by the time of college applications, the thought of our future is forced to the forefront of our mind. The simple thought of which college to choose slowly spirals into more convoluted and brain numbing questions that will only leave the individual stressed and lost in thought.  

One of the art pieces I’ve been contemplating on choosing is a graphic novel called Blue Period by Tsubasa Yamaguchi (December 2017-Present). This series depicts the coming-of-age story of a senior in high school trying to find his place in society. After an eye opening encounter with a fellow classmate’s painting, he made the spontaneous decision to pursue an education and career in art. However, this decision doesn’t come without failure. Alongside a multitude of obstacles, the series tackles various themes such as the desire to be understood, the dichotomy of hardwork v.s. Talent, the discovery of oneself, and the management of stress and mental health. I chose this particular series/artwork because I believe that anyone who has ever experienced the stress of college applications or been conflicted with their life choices can truly relate/empathize with the story and its themes. I plan on using the themes and issues depicted in the series to portray the social and political issue of mental distress in relation to maturing/growing older[Thesis]. While I do think this could be an interesting topic to write about, I need to make sure that the essay is more than just a book report while also expanding on the ideas I plan to incorporate. 

Link to book: https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Period-1-Tsubasa-Yamaguchi/dp/1646511123

David Wojnarowicz was an American artist who utilized many forms of art to advocate for civil rights and homosexual identification. His piece named Untitled (One Day, This Kid) was something that he had worked on towards the end of his life. At the center of the piece is an image of David Wojnarowicz during his days as an innocent youth. However, surrounding the picture are a slew of sentences that detail the child’s future experiences as he begins to discover his true identity. This combination of imagery and text evidently appeals to the audience’s sense of pathos and ethos. As the viewer identifies this innocent child in front of them, they are instantly forced to correlate such harsh experiences to a supposedly gleeful, innocent child. After reading intense phrases such as “One day this kid will experience all this activity … [that] will compel him to submit to silence or invisibility” or “when he begins to talk, men who develop a fear of this kid will attempt to silence him with strangling … and immolation of fire,” the audience will ultimately evoke emotions of sympathy and sadness for the grueling experiences he had to endure simply due to his sexual orientation. Wojnarowicz’s text can resonate with today’s political and social concerns by serving as a piece of art that exposes the harsh reality that society subjects to those that are considered “different.” As much as society has progressed since the creation of this piece (1988-89), there still exist countless individuals that have experienced a similar upbringing due to their sexual orientation or any form of strife related to being a “social oddity.” As seen with Wojnarowcz’s artwork, art can serve as the bridge connecting between the past and present. While artworks can depict the social and political atmosphere of that era, they can be cross-referenced and compared to modern times to see just how drastically different or similar the situation is. Furthermore, the perception of the artwork can serve as a learning lesson or a moment to feel empowered.

After marking each sentence in two of my paragraphs, the results showed that I’ve incorporated all 4 writing styles, but I used complex and compound sentence structures more so than any other. This is mostly because of my usage of transition words and prepositions to start my sentences. The least used style within my 2 paragraphs was the complex compound style. . The result wasn’t that surprising to me since, for first drafts, I’m aware that I use these structures more so than any other one. Due to this, I create sentences that are a bit wordier than I would like. This forms a tiresome-to-read sentence, which could lose its value in the grand scheme of things. It also leads to many instances of redundancy. To accommodate for these issues, I’ll work on changing and incorporating more simple style structures. This structure will allow the main point of the sentence to be emphasized and shown in a more clear manner. I can also work on cutting down unnecessary words within these complex and compound sentence structures to make them easier to read and flow better. Sentence structure correlates to the other edits and revisions I plan on making by it brings clarity to the main theme of each paragraph and corresponding sentences. Efficient sentence structure usage is important in creating fluid transitions from sentence to sentence. Ideally, this would make grammatical issues easier to spot, the writing process smoother, and the viewing process more enjoyable.

One of the most prevailing issues currently circulating the globe is climate change. As scientists and analysts predict that the world may end in a matter of years, some people have already felt the effects of global warming right at the front of their doorsteps. Yet, during these troublesome times, the government has neglected to specifically help, and instead, further jeopardize the housing situation of low-income ethnic minorities. 

Understandably, citizens look towards the government for aid and security, however; those who are of low income and an ethnic minority race are met with racial disparity instead. Looking specifically at coastal New York City, the occurrence of floods and hurricanes isn’t new for its residents. However, the issue arose from the rise of housing and insurance prices due to the raging climate. As discussed by Sophie Kasakove in her article, “New York’s Invisible Climate Migrants,” an area such as Canarsie, which is a predominantly black neighborhood in Brooklyn, have been described as constantly being on the back end of climate strife’s. Since the government programs that were supposedly intended to assist its residents with recovery costs were “notoriously inadequate” (Kasakove), the residents were eventually forced to leave with limited options to relocate elsewhere. Not only were the government policies of little to no help, but the situation of the majority-black residents was also exploited by real-estate businesses to be made a profit off of. Outside of coastal regions, racially motivated governmental neglect continues to persist in the form of toxic waste sites. As stated in Francoise Vergès’ article,  “Racial Capitalocene,” in a 1987 publication of Toxic Waste and Race of the United States, it was revealed that “race was the single most important factor in determining where toxic waste facilities were sited in the United States” (Vergès). Instead of being protected by the government, Black and Hispanic communities were “intentionally” made a target for the disposal of dangerous toxic wastes, which were described as byproducts of colonialism contributing to the “Man” (Vergès) influenced global warming. Racially motivated agendas such as this have unfortunately always existed in history. Within the sphere of climate change, especially, the impact the government has on the quality of life for ethnic minority communities should not be overlooked as it has and will set the precedent for the future.

New York City is considered the epicenter for businesses in the world. With this in mind, it’s reasonable to assume the government and businesses/corporations would foster relations that put restructuring and “modernization” at the forefront of their agenda. Yet, these programs don’t proceed without a cost. As a resident of New York City, I’ve witnessed the lingering and current effects of neoliberalism within my neighborhood. Local stores and restaurants that used to be a common sight to see have been replaced with corporate chains along with the expansion of shopping and mall districts. Within the sphere of education, there has also been a rise in debate on standardized testing as arguments have been made towards it encompassing neoliberal ideas. Through the lens of a neoliberalist, students are more likely to be seen as customers than actual students, which then leads to pressing issues relating to tuition, affordability, costs of supplemental aid, etc.  In more recent times, the appearance of the Covid-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the effects of neoliberalism. An example of this would be the price points of Covid tests, masks, and other necessities. The surge in the price of Covid tests, which were formerly free of charge, and other products demonstrate the unregulated privatization of a public commodity, or at least should be public, for the purpose of wanting to meet price margins. Maggie Dickinson’s essay, “The Making of Space, Race, and Place,” encapsulates these remarks of neoliberalism by referencing back to a period in NYC when it had entered a phase of “restructuring into a corporate mecca” (Dickinson 30) to cater towards the rich and upper-class population. Graffiti and its writers, unfortunately, became the scapegoats for this agenda, which ultimately emphasizes the government’s prioritization of businesses/corporations over the wellbeing of its people. Just as New York City was undergoing a change then, it continues to transform in ways, whether it be for better or worse.