We Take A Journey

We Take A Journey

My front door is on North 35th Street and West Hadley Street.

Every week, Mom and I visit the Family Food Market. Every night, we cook our favorite meals.

But tonight, we won’t stay at home. 

Mom takes me to Fryerz for my first Italian Beef Sandwich.

We walk off our big bellies, then refill them with Family Dollar candy. 

The store is loud. Mom sings me lullabies. 

Grandma is home. We stop by for a check up.

We go and play tag on school grounds. Our bellies are still rumbling.

We thank Jesus for each other at Tabernacle Baptist small group. 

The streets come alive. We rest at home.

Just in time for a scoop of Family Food Market’s best ice cream. 

Blogging About My Blog

It's time to recap a semester of blogging. I'll try not to cry.

Creativity: Living Multimodally 

This was a fun brain spasm. The prompt sent me into the long-term memory, where I met a nostalgic montage of past friendships (they moved away...tears) and one iconic music video. I give much credit to my camera roll for this...those photos are iconic. 

Professionalism: Chaotic Writing

Here, I approached the theoretical, academic concept called "writing process" with a fun little blogger voice. It meshed well, I think. Professionalism doesn't mean formal, rather the content's application to teaching and overall depth of thought...I did learn a lot from this reading, about myself and others. 

Civic Engagement: We Are Water Protectors

I'm not sure that you can view my video -- but if the link works, then this is my only post with a video directly attached! We love that. We also love that the video is homemade, culturally relevant, and designed for real-world use. Throw that thing on Reels, I bet it'll get millions of views. 

Multimodal Design: Tutor Mashup

The Jamboard introduction was awesome, and I'm glad I enjoyed the fullness of the software before it's departure (more tears). The hyperlink-per-word ratio stands above it's blog-peers...much of my (professional) digital footprint was available for students. Pictures were my favorite part, though. Look closely -- this blog includes my favorite study bible, the objective best asian cuisine in the midwest, and the worst high school homecoming photo ever taken.

The People's Choice: Jordan Calloway

I didn't look intently at every blog, but when Jordan shared his Canva project with the class I enjoyed the design style. I kept digging, finding another piece, "Reflections And Thoughts Of Our Growing Role." The writing wasn't for anyone, rather he used the assignment to authentically process his learning. He made this space his own; I appreciate that...it's worthwhile to read and consider. Shoutout to Jordan for his work this semester.

We Are Water Protectors

My blog was incredibly fun to make. I remember having this idea on Easter Sunday...I couldn’t articulate it yet, but I had the vision in my brain.

 The multimodal product itself didn’t change how I viewed the topic. However, this one required me to dig through my camera roll, searching for the most beautiful photos of water that I have. I look back now at how many photos of lakes, seas, and oceans that I took, and I think it’s fair to say that I love water. Whether or not I recognize that, I clearly cherish the aesthetic of nature and derive some sort of awe from it. After all, my favorite place in the world is by Lake Winnebago, which washes up so much sentimentality that I ignore its brown-green, unappetizing appearance.

The visuals of water also remind us of how present water is...who can say they don’t value what makes up 70% of the planet’s surface? Not only the quantity, but the form. Water is rain, rivers, plumbing, and vacations. It’s everywhere when we don’t expect it to be.

This multimodal presentation would be ideal for contemporary civic engagement. People love videos, especially reels, and especially ones under fifteen seconds. When participating in activism, virality is a sought-after gemstone. The Gamestop stock takeover was a trend. Asian hate was identified and fought against because it took over social media. Content delivered on the most used platforms is now essential for eective, persuasive civic engagement.