What have I learned in Four Months?

Throughout this semester, I have gotten more inspired to write and to read. At the beginning of FIQWS 10108, when I knew that we will be reading comics, all I was thinking was “Really? Are we reading about superheroes and supervillains? I thought that comics were for kids and that they are just drawings. However, throughout this course, I learned that there is more into comics than just pictures and bubbles. Sometimes things are not as simple as we think they are. We can analyze the themes in which the author portray and the panels in which they are organized to emphasize certain scenes. I did not think that I would be reading comics but when I started reading Ms. Marvel: No Normal, it was so interesting and I finished it in one sitting.

Throughout the book “El Deafo” by Cece Bell, I had a chance to see what deaf people experience in their lives, the challenges they face, and how they feel about it. Prior to this class, I have seen people wearing a device on the back of their ears but I never questioned what was that for. In this class, I have learned that that device is called “cochlear implant”. I find it really amazing how scientists and researchers are able to create a technology but I never thought about what deaf people thought about this innovation, how they would feel towards it, and what it means to them. Are scientists and doctors trying to “fix” them or simply giving them an opportunity to hear? Maybe because I am not in that position of the deaf and I have not experienced losing one of the senses, I do not understand how it feels.

However, after reading this article “Between Sound and Silence” by Irene Taylor Brodsky from the New York Times, my mind once again opened to another dimension about the cochlear implant. This article helped me see through how people who have been living without a hearing aid and still have an amazing life feel about the cochlear implant. Wearing an implant is more than having to opportunity to hear. It is hard for people to adapt and understand what others are saying. As Cece said, it is not about the volume but whether you understand or not. In order words, people speaking louder did not help Cece understand better but to create more noise in her head.

“Constructing a sentence is the equivalent of taking a snapshot: pressing the button, and watching something emerge. To write one is to document and to develop at the same time.”
Throughout the course of FIQWS 10108 with professor Dalton, I was able to condense my ideas. For example in a book, there are so many themes and main topics that one wants to talk about. But how can we share this idea in just two pages? In order to do that I had to shrink many ideas into one idea and include many details and evidence to support that idea. In the essay, responding to Ms. Marvel, I struggled because I had so many ideas and it was very broad and not concise. I also learned that when reading we have to think about the audience, the reader, and the message and how they connect to each other. Now, I am able to analyze major themes of a book or story and, through writing, condense ideas to not make it sound too broad.

Language, the tone of speech, and behavior reflect on the personality and reveals who one is. It is amazing how many people come from a different country to be here in New York City, and we are connected through the use of the same language and living in the same environment. We come from different background, different cultures, and different traditions but we are connected through language and how we adapt to a similar environment. As James Baldwin mentioned, “Blacks came to the United States chained to each other, but from different tribes […]. A language comes into existence by means of brutal necessity.” Words have power and they can impact others and get people thinking. Throughout the semester, we discussed language and identity. What really defines us, if any? I believe that “everything happens for a reason.” Things that happen to us and every little thing that we did and continue doing shapes us and help us grow.

To conclude, language can serve as a barrier or as a bridge that connects us. Even though many people come from different background, we are connected through language, speech, and communication. One of the things I appreciate from this class is that we had the chance to discuss issues of self and identity, self and body, fandom, and the gap between generations. These topics helped me see outside the box and think beyond my own story.