Brandon’s Final Reflection
Introduction to Latinx Studies was a beautiful class to be a part of. Looking back I really appreciated the different kinds of writing we covered throughout the class from the Miles Morales essay to talking about immigration. I also enjoyed the many things we did in class outside of the readings we did, like when we did the acting activity where we tried to be different kinds of groups about a kid being hurt in a farming accident or when we all talked in a platicar about how our names came to be. I also enjoyed the conversation we had with special guests like Virginia grise where we were able to learn more about her perspective on theater and what motivates her to continue her work. Overall I am very pleased with the community that we built in the class it felt like even though we all came from different spaces around the world as people of Latinx we were able to connect on a deeper level as a community not just through weekly discussions but also by talking about problems around the world that affect us as people of Latinx. I’ve always been someone who’s been in touch with my emotions and one of the ways that I was able to express myself was through writing and poetry. My inspiration behind my poem for the project was based on a day in high school. In high school, I’ve definitely experienced moments where I was not having the best day and all I really needed was empathy from those closest to me. Similarly when thinking about this poem I had that in mind. What can start off as a regular mundane day where you already feel horrible can easily become even more heartbreaking when all you need is to feel heard and understood. As I expressed in the poem the girl was having a regular day but her mental state is already at an all-time low. And sometimes when we feel like this we turn towards our best friend. In the poem, the girl tries to reach out to her best friend and be in her presence but it all turns for the worse when she annoys him unintentionally. This causes him to distance himself from her even after she tries to make amends. In the end, the girl feels crushed because all she really needs is his support to make everything feel more stable in her mind. I really liked how my classmates contributed to the project. Like the food more specifically the empanadas, Morir Soñando, and the cake from Wegmans. I also really liked the different kinds of writing pieces my classmates created from zines to a book about food and culture. Additionally I liked how creative some of my classmates were within their collaboration, in particular, this one group based their project on how the three of them were raised differently but since they’re all latinx when they come together they can compare how their environment shaped their upbringings.