The following are assignments I’ve completed for the U.S Experience Composition class. As a freshman in CCNY these assignments truly helped with my introduction to college. I learned many methods of writing in this class that I believe will help with my future work at City College.
The first assignment was to use Gaipa Strategies in a topic of our choice. I learned about “piggybacking”, “leapfrogging”, and “picking a fight” statements.
The Gaipa strategies I used for this post were piggy backing, picking a fight, and leapfrogging. For my topic of Easter Island’s mysterious stone statues the first tweet was for the most part about common knowledge, it was a general statement with a lot of accessible research behind it. For the piggybacking reply I decided to add on to the first tweet by supporting it with deeper evidence that others may not know about, however for this strategy the audience is still being presented with the same mystery and no conclusion. For my picking-a-fight reply I decided to rebuke the initial tweet’s statement all together by debunking the explorer who “discovered” the statues, the tweet doesn’t support the initial statement whatsoever and opposes the stated information, it also doesn’t present further evidence for a conclusion. The last Gaipa strategy I used was leapfrogging which unlike picking-a-fight doesn’t oppose the statement but instead questions the methods used to gather the information from the initial statement. Leapfrogging also proposes new questions that could further a conclusion to the mystery. This topic was something my 10 year old sister taught me recently therefore I didn’t have much information other than the basics I had learned from her. While doing simple research about the statues some questions came into my head that related to why the mystery couldn’t be solved. By learning about the Gaipa strategies I could identify which questions were picking-a-fight, leapfrogging, etc. It was important for me to learn these strategies for when I will be writing research papers or even debating with people either formally or informally. Overall this assignment helped give me an insight of how I could use/identify Gaipa strategies in both school and my everyday life.
The next assignment was our Personal Statement which allowed us to get practice for writhing Personal Statements in the future. I liked this assignment because it could help us in the future when trying to apply to scholarships.
Personal Statement
Personal Statement
Getting a job at 16 was one of the most liberating achievements I have experienced. It was an opportunity that arose from me taking a chance, a chance that unexpectedly would change my perspective on my passion and career. A job at a bookstore with literature covering the interior from floor to ceiling was more than a fathomable dream for me, especially as a young teen not used to fortune swinging in my favor. From the age of 6-10 I lived in a house I couldn’t call my own. The circumstances of our financial situation drove us to live in my cousin’s house. My parents and 3 siblings shared a room, a bed. My hand-me-downs and possessions fit in a few plastic bins. Even in elementary school I could understand that my family’s living situation wasn’t something I could be proud of. I felt isolated most of the time from the other kids in my grade, never being able to relate to the hot new movies or games that came out because we couldn’t afford a t.v or the internet. I turned to books in my times of loneliness and it brought me comfort to dive into a world other than my own. Books kept me busy from setting into my reality, and I wouldn’t have imagined that as a teen I’d be able to attain a position where being around books was my job. Being surrounded by books wasn’t the only thing that got me excited about my job; getting money flown in my bank account every other week wasn’t something I expected to experience so soon in life. Working at a bookstore made me gain an appreciation for the different types of literature that exist. Passion for writing started to take priority over all my other interests. Poems and journal entries are just a few of the writing styles I explore. My job makes me realize the worth of making new experiences; everyday I meet someone new, I learn something new. This knowledge allows me to bring something new to the table, ideas can be exchanged and so can stories. My job has made books a part of my life again and it’s reminiscent of the passion I deeply once had. I read different types of literature now, usually the bestsellers so that I can get accustomed with what new books to recommend to customers, but it also has helped me learn what type of literature is becoming popular in current times. As a writer who hopes to work on screenwriting one day, this job has definitely helped me learn what topics people are interested in learning/reading about nowadays. Getting this scholarship would mean connecting with other writers and learning about what literature means to them, what they’re background is with books and they’re stories.It would mean being able to fulfill my dreams of producing my own pieces and having the funds to go to screenwriting classes where I can be taught how to go about writing it and possibly working on projects. My passion for literature was set at a very early age and with the new opportunities arising such as this scholarship, I feel as if I can finally put my dreams into action.
The next assignment was a proposal to a conference that we would make up ourselves. This served as the first paragraph to the eventual conference paper we would write.
The styling of textured hair carries a lot of history in how black Colombian women represented beauty and maintenance, but we have yet to learn how braiding techniques for textured hair assisted with the ongoing cultural development and survival of Afro-Colombians. In my project I explore the variety of braiding styles and what they signified to the Afro-Colombian community in the times of slavery. By doing online research and listening to interviews of the older generations of Afro-Latinas, I have been able to learn the hidden history of the contributions hair braiding has had to the development of Afro-Colombians. When searching through City College’s One Search website I found there to be little to no information on how braiding techniques were used for communication with the Afro-Latin community, particularly on plans of escape. In my project I discuss the ways Afro-Colombians used their hair to map out escape routes and even convey any obstacles they encountered such as rivers or troops. They also used different hairstyles to hide seeds, or gold to ensure survival after they escaped. WIth the very few resources slaves had they used their hair to plan escapes and store food, hair is something they valued and the same styles that existed to ensure their survival still exist today. With the awareness of how significant hair was to generations of Afro-Colombians we can view black hairstyles through a new lense, one that empowers and celebrates textured hair.
The following assignment was the conference paper that included our findings of our research question. This assignment helped me learn how to build and research a research question which proved to be difficult however I’m glad that I know have experience with it.
The styling of textured hair carries a lot of history in how black Colombian women represented beauty and maintenance, but we have yet to learn how braiding techniques for textured hair assisted with the ongoing cultural development and survival of Afro-Colombians. In my project I explore the variety of braiding styles and what they signified to the Afro-Colombian community in the times of slavery. By doing online research and listening to interviews of the older generations of Afro-Latinas, I have been able to learn the hidden history of the contributions hair braiding has had to the development of Afro-Colombians. When searching through City College’s One Search website I found there to be little to no information on how braiding techniques were used for communication with the Afro-Latin community, particularly on plans of escape. In my project I discuss the ways Afro-Colombians used their hair to map out escape routes and even convey any obstacles they encountered such as rivers or troops. They also used different hairstyles to hide seeds, or gold to ensure survival after they escaped. WIth the very few resources slaves had they used their hair to plan escapes and store food, hair is something they valued and the same styles that existed to ensure their survival still exist today. With the awareness of how significant hair was to generations of Afro-Colombians we can view black hairstyles through a new lense, one that empowers and celebrates textured hair.
Braiding techniques have always held significance in African culture, and it did not stop once African slaves were brought to the Americas. Africans were first brought to Colombia in the 1520’s, they came from the Congo, Gambia, Guinea, Senegal and many other countries. Although the first generation of enslaved Africans were native to these countries, years later when they had kids those children would be Afro-Colombians. Slavery in Southern America lasted many centuries, in Colombia slavery didn’t end until the mid 1800’s, and just like in the U.S slaves were very quick to plan their escapes. They used many techniques to escape but one that often is not known about is their use of hair braiding. One hairstyle would signify a river by braiding in the shape of a worm, another called departes, depart in English would suggest a slave planning on escaping, some say Bantu knots meant mountains, and thick corn rows represented troops still referred in the pacific region today as “tropas”. They used these methods because it was one of the only ways to communicate without their masters understanding their plans. They used this insider language through hair that most will never hear about. Their secrecy is one of the reasons why there is not much collected and recorded information on the culture. Many say that the hairstyles don’t reveal hidden messages, however those who are Afro-Colombian or have lineage will talk about the passed down stories their families told them of braids that helped slaves escape. One woman in particular who brought light to the topic was Ziomara Asprilla Garcia, she was interviewed by the Washington Post and her story brought many curious and skeptical eyes to her story. She is an Afro-Colombiana and she remembers her mothers braiding having meaning. “And another style had curved braids, tightly braided on their heads. The curved braids would represent the roads they would [use to] escape,”(Garcia) shares Asprilla Garcia. Many are hesitant to believe the importance of braiding because of the lack of recorded evidence however it’s important to recognize that these methods were kept in secrecy so they could keep their effectiveness, and our proof is the oral reports of those who knew of this history.
Afro-Colombian slaves were mainly tasked with chopping down sugar canes and working in gold mines, the work was not only laborous but the conditions they were in left many dead. Being a slave in Colombia meant having no choice but to do the work your owner ordered for you to do. The only way to rid yourself from the chains of slavery was to successfully escape. Most slaves didn’t know the landscape of Colombia as they were confined to the places they labored at, this created a very large obstacle for those who tried to escape because they’d be captured back into slavery or died from lack of food and shelter. As a method of survival they’d weave seeds and gold into their hair to help them with their new life after escaping. Many slaves would attempt to escape and as a result those who successfully freed themselves formed a town for refuge seeking slaves named Palenque. These towns still exist to this day and its residents describe it as a piece of Africa in South America. They speak their own language called Palenquero which is Spanish based Creole. The founder of the town was Benkos Biohos in 1603 when him and 36 other slaves escaped a slave ship from Africa and settled in Palenque.The geography has helped Palenque to be a successful refuge as the town is isolated amongst hills and swamps. Smithsonian Magazine writes “While most other strongholds for escaped slaves eventually fell, this one survived because of its isolation among the hills and swamps about 30 miles outside Cartagena.” (Fletcher). The town was sanctuary to many who attempted the brave journey of escaping slavery. They used many methods to flee safely and securely, hair braiding was one of them.
The oral accounts we hear of hair braiding being used as maps used to escape slavery are some of the only known testaments we have of this history. It helps us form a better perspective of what slavery in Colombia was like, and getting accounts from the new generations that have heard stories from the family’s that lived through this time might be the only way of getting the accurate picture. What we have is limited information, while researching this topic there are very few reliable sources that discuss this topic. This is why it’s important to get others to talk about this subject, in hopes of learning more we must be welcoming to these deep conversations and hearing out those who can help us piece together more of this important history. This history has taught us more about the lives of Colombian slaves and the brave, creative tactics used to survive their hardships. It’s important to recognize and celebrate the culture that Afro-Colombians carry so that it lives on and honor those who have made an impact on many. Hair braiding is often looked at on a surface level but I have learned it is much more than that. It has deep roots in Afro-Colombian culture and history and in fact has even helped people survive. My hope is that there is more research done on this topic, research that can help shed light on this big part of Colombian history
Overall I do believe all of these assignments have helped me become a stronger writer and helped me identify difference writing skills and strategies for the future.
