Nathalia Melecio

ENGL 21001 

Professor Meaks 

March 19, 2025

Reflection on In-Class Essay

To prepare for the exam, I re-read carefully the one chapter I was focusing on, to get a broad understanding, and be able to draw more clear correlations, and comprehend better the use of metaphors and symbolism. Then, I include four quotes that were more representative and effective for my claim, and the main topic which was motherhood. To improve my analysis, I wrote down a couple main points that I planned to include in my introduction and conclusion, phrases that were correlated with the theme in body paragraphs, and other key points to draw connections between paragraphs as well. such as: trauma, family relationships/dynamics, unhealthy tendencies..etc.

Once I had the structure for my essay, and stated my main insights, the continuation of my writing process in class was a bit difficult, writing for me is not a spontaneous process. I can’t force myself to write or be fluid and consistent when writing , I would prefer to let the ideas come to my mind, or let motivation take over me, so having a very short deadline, and an assigned time period, it’s definitely overwhelming and not very productive according to my personal style of writing. But overall, I was able to accomplish most of my goals. I forgot to provide context between my quotes, however I was satisfied with my ultimate performance.

A way my writing could improve, when having an in-class essay, could be by working on my adaptation to these types of specific assignments, when having to write a long text with a limited amount of time, to cease the overwhelming feelings, improving my organizational skills is key. By outlining my main ideas and creating a clear structure before I start writing, I can stay focused and ensure my essay flows logically. This way I could successfully avoid stress , allow for a more efficient writing process, at the same time producing a cohesive, well-organized essay under pressure; In the future, I hope to work on finding ways to manage my writing process more effectively, especially when it comes to in-class essays. Since writing doesn’t come spontaneously to me and I often struggle with forcing myself to write or being consistent under tight deadlines. I would like to work on developing strategies that allow for more flexibility in my approach. I aim to find a balance between meeting deadlines and allowing space for creativity and thought development, therefore I can write in a way that feels less overwhelming and more aligned with my personal style.

I personally find the group discussions very interesting, by the fact that everybody has a unique contribution based on their distinct ways of processing, and producing information shaped by their persona, life experiences, and arranged ways of thinking. I really enjoy listening to every single one of my peers; their thoughts definitely allow me to understand the text from a different perspective, developing a better understanding of the text’s structure, including use of language, metaphors, symbolism and other writing strategies.

Nathalia Melecio

ENL 21001

Professor Meaks 

March 16, 2025

‘Inventory’  

What’s the purpose of telling this collection of stories ?

Through the chapter, the author introduces this collection of intimate stories by narrating earlier sexual experiences, providing an introduction of  the characters sexual life, encountering lovers, and strangers…As the story develops, the conversation of a ‘disease’ starts to surface, at the end of the chapter, this illness takes away one of their partners, which is also the last one to be introduce. Now, there are two things in particular I find very interesting about this collection, which is the use of language and the mysteriousness between the significance of this pandemic. 

Looking at the particular use of language when addressing casual relationships and sex, it’s pretty brief and explicit, almost objective like careless, which is emphasized by its title. However the collective thought of sex, invokes excitement and curiosity, which seems to be reciprocated by the flow of the first stories. But when articulation about sex in the characters adulthood, the diverse outcomes of these experiences, are not quite expected by the reader, which could lead to disappointment, when people often write about sex stories, there is a lot of detail, fiction and fantasy around it, the protagonist’s story challenges that, by bringing up the reality of casual sexual encounters, or women’s sex life. 

The illness in the story acts as a metaphor for human contact, connection, and intimacy, with a focus on isolation whenever it is emotional or physical. As the story progresses, both the number of encounters and the presence of the disease increase. The final partner seems to have a special relationship with the protagonist, and it appears that as she grows closer to someone, the significance of the pandemic becomes more pronounced. The deeper the connection, the more the threat of the disease presents itself, highlighting the tension between the desire for intimacy and the fear of the inevitable risk and vulnerability that comes with it.

The idea of writing towards a specific community that I was part of, was quite challenging in the beginning, due to the fact that I personally don’t have a strong rooted connection to any other community besides the Black community. Despite the fact I have diverse interests and hobbies. I believe that my identity as a black woman has a great impact on major aspects of my life ,such as socio-economic status, cultural stereotypes, representation and visibility.. Etc, characteristics that are pretty  relatable to among black people, develops indeed a sense of community. However the Black community itself is a very broad concept, because of the diverse geographical location across the globe, and socio-cultural circumstances. Which is the reason why I particularly wrote about the Afro-Colombian community.

When it comes to writing, exploring and including most of my thoughts it’s very helpful, it creates this constant revision of direction,and word usage as well, at the same time evoking a sense of creating writing; however it could be coathic, or just a lot of information to digest sometimes, but just like most writing process and narrowing down and  establishing a clear connection between ideas is essential.

I did not have the opportunity to receive feedback or realize peer workshop, to work for the betterment of my writing  based on others opinion or suggestions, but popular practices among my peers like reading out loud my essay to make sure i did not overlook mistakes, paying attention to my tone as i read  to make sure i was being coherent, which was the only tool that was put in practice for the community essay.

It took me 3 days to write my community essay. I dedicated about 5 hours in average per day writing my essay, i had a lot of progress when the first draft was due, probably because I work better under pressure, specially when it comes to writing, some of my difficulties, specially when starting were very broad concepts such as the history of slavery, the cultural impact in Colombia brought by African-Colombians, and the current socio-economic state of black society, and how the legacy of racism, colorism develops quite different in third world countries. If i would’ve had more time when constructing my essay, i would have dedicated more time, and detailed establishing an explicit connection between ideas, and concepts through a shorter text. 

My favorite part of this particular essay was how informative it was, acknowledging the history and foundation of black communities in Latin America, specially in Colombia, in order to understand how slavery was experienced in South America, also providing an  understatement on the struggles of marginalized communities faced in ‘developing’ countries. At the same time emphasizing the determination of African-Colombian slaves to free themselves through a well built strong sense community.

Another of my most pleasant experiences was narrating the different tasks or labour that slaves would perform in Sugar Plantations in Valle del Cauca, because some of this practice is pretty much rooted in the community. The production of guarapo and panela are still practiced among my family, and the fact that I witnessed and performed this work myself , was a beautiful way to reconnect with my ancestors besides the negative context.

-A visual representation of the extraction of sugar cane juice, guarapo, done by slaves

Welcome to CUNY Academic Commons. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!