Portfolio Keeping was definitely an interesting read. I was honestly unaware that there were other types of portfolios besides maybe art or financial portfolios before taking this class so I really went in not knowing anything. However, after reading the book, I have a solid understanding of writing portfolios. You can create a physical or digital portfolio and it generally is created with the intention of presenting the portfolio or using it as a tool to track your development. I also learned these portfolios can include a variety of things besides writing pieces such as pictures or music. Overall I think it will benefit my writing and I’m excited to start.

As I was scrolling through other people’s prep notes, I read Nicholas Javier’s note and he mentioned journaling and how he related that to a writing portfolio, which really struck me. I also have kept a journal for almost a year now and it has been super helpful to just get all my thoughts out there but it has indirectly tracked my growth as a person. I went back and reread some of my old entries and it is apparent how much I have matured since I first began the journal. In the same way that my journal demonstrates my personal progression, I know my writing portfolio will show my journey as a writer which I can reflect upon and see my growth.

I also found the articles interesting. I was surprised by the fact that we actually form some level of identity by age 2 and begin creating memories but we forget them completely by age 8. It was also interesting to see the correlation between a strong family and more resilience in the child. My favorite of the two articles was definitely the one about campfire stories. I didn’t expect there to be such a history behind campfires and how they resulted in more storytelling. The study conducted also surprised me. The fact that 81% of the conversations held at night were storytelling as opposed to I believe 6% during the day is a huge difference.