Author: Nicholas Javier Page 1 of 4

4/12/2024 — UR Visit

On April 18, 2024

It was an amazing opportunity to have them come to campus. Starting from the beginning, although I came late, the book arts studio was a fun experience. The guys at my table had creative minds, and my partner for the project, G, actively considered doing his own story into the booklet! Although he struggled a bit because of the sheer size of his story, he was really happy to see the completed result. I am excited for him and to see where he goes after he graduates with his GED and begins working with his dad, and I wish him the best.

The tour was a pretty fun experience, albeit we moved a lot faster than I was expecting. Sometimes they were not the most attentive group, but I could tell they were having fun. They made sure to take plenty of pictures, and they definitely wanted to see the Football field for the experience. I learned that one of the others in the group was considering applying to the University of Richmond for college with some plan for a background in business but was also interested in a lot of fields like the arts and history.

The rain was an unexpected agent, but it was nice to get a little bit of breathing room from the walking. Basketball was fun but I did not actively participate, but it was fun seeing them have fun on the campus. I also never knew we had a volleyball pit, and seeing one of the boys hop in for a game with the UR students already there was something that put a smile on my face.

Seeing the booklets reach completion was a satisfying feeling. and it was good to see them one more time. I’ve got high hopes for all of them.

Reflection for 3/22

By Nicholas Javier

On March 29, 2024

In Experiential Reflections, Javier

It was a bit saddening for it to be the last day meeting. The guy I was working with ended up passing his GED! It was so exciting to hear, and I was so happy for him because it was a significant step towards him stepping into a better place and advancing his interests. He is excited to start preparing for his driver’s test after he gets out. We talked about his plans, even the first meal he’ll have once he is out.

He seemed fairly content with his story. I told him that he could use it as something to draw back on if he ever finds himself struggling after his release. As we made it to the end and moved into Group Discussions, it was nice to see a more casual interaction. Favorite snacks, favorite sports, and a lot of other relaxing and casual conversation. Learning the stories of some of the other inmates was interesting, and it was also seeing a more casual side of him that was also exciting.

Week 2 Reflection

By Nicholas Javier

On February 19, 2024

In Experiential Reflections, Javier

Writing this a little bit later than I would have liked, as it had slipped my mind over the weekend. This week’s experience was much better than the first week, and I think a significant component of the experience was a much more individualized process. The folks who we ended up working within the Post D program ended up being some of the kids I had the first week, namely J, J, and another, while I met a new student named R.

I ended up working with R with Kristine through the discussion and getting to know him was much easier and much richer. It became clear through our discussion that he very much loved his family, his sisters, and his nephews especially whom he pretty much equates to his own kids in a sense of closeness. He tells about the car crash he was in, and he expresses regret over the “stupid” decisions that he made that brought him here, but he also seems to have many hopes and dreams and plans for when he gets out.

He discussed how he wanted to go to college, possibly for engineering — and how he wanted to also go to trade school, how he wanted to fix cars. When he envisioned his future, he pictured a happy family with three kids, many cars, an amazing man cave, and a career as an athlete. His superpower was to Rewind Time, which would essentially give him all the time in the world to make his dreams come true.

He was quite friendly, and he seemed pretty invested in the storytelling component. He had some difficulties in terms of a train of thought, often repeating certain lines that he had already stated, and I learned in the aftermath that he has certain difficulties in terms of writing that will require assistance from the teachers as he goes through the project, but I really like him. He is a friendly kid, and he talks about starting a clothes-selling business once he graduates.

2/09/2024 – Detention Visit 1

By Nicholas Javier

On February 10, 2024

In Experiential Reflections, Javier

Upon arriving at the detention center, it was a bit of a different experience than I was expecting. Part of what was additionally shocking to me was the subtle reminders of where they were, such as the barbed wires in the yards. It brings to reality that although this place is a school, it is also a much darker place than that. I love the murals within the location, but at the same time, it’s not particularly easy to overlook them in the face of the rest of the details, like their rather limited rooms.

My group was a certainly interesting batch. Two of them, J and K (I don’t exactly know how to spell it) seemed to be the jokesters of the group, and although things were tense at times with the teachers, they seemed friendly enough. The others in the group such as the pair of Jhs were a bit quieter but they seemed to interact alright with one another. They were generally dismissive of the project rather than open to it, and maybe part of it was that I had not adequately prepared, as I was not expecting 5 students at once.

Interestingly enough, one of the other teachers in the room seemingly had experience with the book-making project before and produced a past copy that she distributed for them to read. They did not exactly take it seriously, but they seemed to still be having fun. I think their age group is around 17, maybe a year younger. They seem like bright kids, but part of their attitudes shows that they really aren’t taking the project seriously, so hopefully I can change their minds about that.

Prep Note – 2/1/2024

By Nicholas Javier

On February 2, 2024

In Javier, prep note

One of the interesting thoughts I had during the reading came up in chapter 6. The subject “losing your body” and the notion of sensory, and the complicated relationship that is inscribed between the body, the senses, and the mind. I did a Literature Review in high school that studied Music and its impact on the brain, and one of the terms that came up was “DSN” — that term returns as they compare the brains of “normal” Canadians against those who had a history of trauma, and when observing the contrasts between the brains – it was terrifying to think about.

The idea that those who experienced trauma earlier in life had taught their body to “deaden” itself to certain feelings is shocking. The author describes the interplay with concepts of “self” and in trying to explain how it might affect their day-to-day life such as their struggle with a sense of self and purpose, to the point where they might not even recognize themselves in the mirror, further reinforces the significant impact that trauma can have in terms of long-lasting impact.

The deep interplay of the “sense of self” and the body is something that I find interesting and want to do more reading on. The concepts of agency combined with selfhood draw back to how important this concept of “identity” might be, not just as a “literary” or “self-discovery” element, but on a biological and fundamental level.

Prep Note – 11/28/2023

By Nicholas Javier

On November 28, 2023

In Javier, prep note

Over the Thanksgiving break, my mother was reminiscing about life before two of her boys went off to college. It was sentimental in nature, mostly because she hadn’t seen my brother and I since the fall break, which must have been forever. She commented about how it was nice to cook meals for more than three, which must have been an adjustment after my twin and I left.

The story that she told actually dates back to around when my little brother was born. We were living in Madison, New Jersey. It’s part of North Jersey if that makes any difference. She recalled back with great vivid detail about how we lived right near the elementary school and would see children march in from the upstairs window of my bedroom. Most importantly, was the park adjacent to the house. Dodge Field, complete with a playground basketball court, baseball field, and really anything that fits the suburban locality.

The story really began with her taking my twin and me on a stroll through the park. My twin brother was feeling under the weather- your stereotypical snotty and sick kid who cried, and myself being overly energetic and excitable as most toddlers are at that age. It must have been when I was three, maybe even earlier. My little brother- she couldn’t recall whether she was pregnant with him at the time, or if he had been newly born and was thus strapped to her chest in one of those baby carriers. It really accelerates when my energetic tiny self, ends up running into the baseball field as a practice or game is going on.

While that may sound simple, it was hard to imagine. My mother, stressed with almost bloodshot eyes with the existence of a newborn weighing on her, sleepless nights, coupled with one sick kid crying and holding onto her hand, and the other running off right into the middle of an ongoing session on the baseball field. She chased after me and fortunately, she was able to round me up once again, but she recalls that as one of the most exhausting but also memorable moments in our time at Madison.

Now, while the story might seem almost frightening, and simultaneously, simple. It serves as an important story to my mother because it reminds her of simpler, albeit exhausting, times when she had all three of her boys. It wasn’t easy for her or my dad when my twin and I would trade off crying, or even team-up with wails that could echo through the neighborhood. But it was also sweetening when she could carry both of us in her arms at the same time, or when she’d come upstairs and find us napping after snacks in the middle of the day. She reminisces about these stories sometimes, and while it gives insight into the kind of little monster I might’ve been as a child, it also gives insight into just how much my mother cares about me and my brothers.

Class Notes 11/9/2023

By Nicholas Javier

On November 9, 2023

In Daily Class Notes, Javier

Today we start with looking and reading someone else’s essay.
Pickup from where we left off yesterday.
- Contrast from thinking of a piece of art / content analysis.
- Grading from rubric.
  - Can feel a little weird, as a student, not certain how the teacher might evaluate it.
  - Come alongside one another – Not judgment – Look at elements in rubric and raise questions of the essay via rubric.
  - “Not grading other people’s paper” – opportunity to use rubric as a lens when viewing an essay. DISCUSSION.
Later today we start reviewing the Story Project.
- Various partners reviewed their essays in accordance with the rubric and received advice that promoted discussion.
- This lasted until around 12:25 in terms of class-time.
We then circled back up once more for discussion after a brief stint of moving chairs around.
Discussion Summary vs Analysis
- Times to do Summary – but need to understand you might be doing “too-much” over analysis.
Rubrics are interesting.
- As much as we try to make it objective, it is inherently subjective in nature.
- True in many things, and many courses.
Professor Dolson cares about fairness – that’s why we do so much in-class work to understand subtly what the terms mean in-context.
- Each of them are pieces to understand what Professor Dolson is looking for.
- Rough Draft + Progressions – All to help to communicate and develop writing.
Each paper gives rise to new conversations – by nature communication is hard to describe and evaluate so important to remember.
- Not All or Nothing – Find paths to make it feel fairer.

Did anybody see something in the paper’s read today that might trigger “bonus point” award?

Tricky to find if not looking for it.
- Professor will be looking to award it – To find it.
- Remember Professor Dolson does partial points so if something is a bit off or extra, there is the potential of loss or gain of ½ points.

Notice:

One of the rows has to do with correctness and how it contributes to the respect of writer over how they control the medium
- For this reason, she asked us to compare and contrast Grammarly and Hemmingway.
- Kristine Nguyen mentions comparing the two systems in her Prep Note.
Professors are becoming more and more uncomfortable with the development of A.I. and other similar technologies
- Professor Dolson believes them to be tools to be used, depending on their use.

Kristine Nguyen’s take on Grammarly vs Hemmingway

Starting with Grammarly and free
- More limited with free features as compared to premium
- Broader categories of edits
  - Ex: Clarity
Hemmingway is much more specific
- “Use too many adverbs” – Something that might’ve been unnoticed if not pointed out
- Will Sheets has a similar experience where Hemmingway is telling him to eliminate the usage of adverbs
- Nick Gunn is also being told to use too many Adverbs. Noticed that Grammarly in contrast never mentioned too many adverbs.
  - New levels of awareness.

Bryce

First time using Hemmingway – Noticed / highlighted the last column that was hard to read and long
- Bryce realized that much of his sentences needed to be worked on for the sake of clarity
Different kinds of A.I highlight different “stylistic choices” – but the writer is the one that decides what they want to use.
Nothing in the A.I. asks about your audience or their level, but it can possibly tell you what it evaluates the level of complexity
- Ex: Highschool Level, Collegiate Level, etc.
Do you think every sentence is as simple as possible to forge better writing? Or is it subjective to choice?

Hemingway as an Author

Holden and Bryce:
- Read Old Man and the Sea
Hemmingway was coming into a new distinctive writing style that focuses on nouns and verbs and shorter sentences rather than adverbs
- Has a certain kind of power
- Has a certain kind of clarity
- Influenced writing and American tastes today – in Journalism as well
  - See a difference from turn of last century, to the modern day.
  - Journalistic style is now much more clear rather than ornate with the new Noun-Verb emphasis
- Some can find it to be almost boring with lacking adjectives or adverbs
Question of who is the audience? What is the purpose?

Have a conversation with Artificial Intelligence

It is your choice as the author to decide what you want to write about and the style that you want to take it upon.
Who is your audience?
- Writing to Collegian?
- Writing a letter home?
It’s hard to tell from “self” what the written voice sounds like
- By having another person read your writing out loud
  - May feel vulnerable or embarrassed about it.
  - Maybe do it with somebody you trust
- Don’t need feedback, just possibly listen aloud to your writing.
  - Easiest way for some to hear where the writing stumbles or the sentence does not make sense.
  - Great way to hear what a written voice sounds like.
  - Some adverbs might be necessary to help get a complete message across, but when using too many – its almost like reaching for or imitating other voices.
Students use Adverbs a lot when they are trying to write a paper about ahrd ideas and struggling to draw them together.
- That is when you try compensating with other elements
- Fast vs Good vs Cheap
  - Can only have two of the three, etc.
- Similar elements in writing to the process. Different techniques. Slow the process down and see how effective it is – give time for ideas to draw together.
Use Adverbs as a marker to see – “can I say this more clearly?” “Can I state this better with different words?”
- Readers like action.
- Academic Pros try to make everything nicer / quieter / more boring
- Chance to change that.
- Interesting elements over Sentence Length
  - AIs note if it is too long of a sentence.
- Professor Dolson thinks in writing, students more often err on leaving sentences longer when they would prefer it a little bit shorter.
  - They are trying to read in a hurry and they want to be able to understand clearly.
  - Not extreme noun-verb noun-verb pattern
  - Good to VARY sentence length to emphasize some places not others.
  - Always look for clarity, as reading is hard. Easy to be misunderstood in writing.
Is it ethical to write rough drafts with Artificial Intelligence?
- AI can’t talk about personal experiences – and the books are not deeply involved with technology like Chat GPT so it cannot analyze the draft for you.
- Sometimes AI might single out quotes with having errors, but make choice to ignore it.
Some disciplines prefer and some abhor passive voice.
- Scientists use it a lot in their writing
- English professors consider it as incorrect
Lanham’s Paramedic Method
- I should be using it a lot
- Circle elements of “be” or “is” or “are” and substitute them with better phrases and words.
- Writing Center and Writing Consultants are a helpful resource when dealing with them.

Storytelling – New Assignment

The Moth:
- What is it?
- Almost like an online archive of stories, starting with dinner parties and eventually growing and expanding into the archive that it became today.
- Storytelling of Personal Narratives – new definition of Moths.
When telling stories with the Moth Method
- Tell a true story, 7 minutes, with no notes.
- Idea that it was prepared beforehand.
- Interesting:
  - Good Actor vs Bad Actor
  - Bad Actor has memorized lines but just sounds like they’re reading it.
- Don’t memorize it word for word and then release it – Tell it by heart.
  - Divide a story like a graphic novel or storyboards, and as you progress – recall phrases or images of the components to help flow through the story.
- If you’re interested in doing it, you can send in a pitch and they will help you shape your story for presentation.
We could watch a “moth” video or jump into a “discussion” about the Moth videos / stories.
My Boss’s Murder Fantasies:
- Man is 20 years old on College Campus sitting in Housing trying to get and maintain his job.
- Boss is Emily, who is older but she’s friendly.
- They let Mike keep his job.
  - He comes back from Study Abroad to find Emily is gone and new boss from Kentucky is back
- Rick comes back to meet Mike and Mike has to adjust to the new boss.
  - Rick wanted to bond with Mike and asked if he could take walks around campus to get to know Mike.
  - Rick really wants to be Mike’s friend because everyone likes Mike.
  - He goes on a lot of Mike’s tours just to watch him give tours and talk about campus life adn laughs at all the jokes.
- Rick keeps asking Mike to go on walks but notices that he isn’t interested and gets all sullen.
- Mike goes to bathroom and Ricks man the computer and when he comes back – Rick has closed all the tabs that Mike ahd open.
  - He opens browser history to find his tabs and discovers Rick has a blog.
  - Rick has a blog about his sexual encounters and drug usage and drug recovery and then entries about Mike.
  - Rick wants Mike to eat some shrimp someday and chokes on it and dies…
  - Mike looks into further entries of himself and finds that there are several posts about how Rick murders him or just lets him die.
- Mike starts wondering about where this comes from blaming himself – realizes that its not his fault but that Rick is the problem.
  - Afraid to look into Rick’s eyes.
- Becomes hyper suspicious about Rick being in the back of his car and he starts telling Steph his roommate about everything.
- He prints the entire website out as proof in case it gets deleted.
  - He calls Emily and sends her the link.
  - She says “You need to call Kim” – Emily and Rick’s boss.
  - He talks to Kim and Kim says she won’t be on campus for two days and asks Mike to hold out.
- Kim looks through the stack of papers like “Why did you wait two days?”
  - Tells him not to come to work and tells him to wait until they have something to do.
  - Keeps the stack of papers, the website disappears.
  - They said they would not let Rick go, unless Mike really wants him to be fired.
  - He accepts Rick can keep his job – she has Rick come into the room to apologize and starts crying about the murder fantasies website.
Hearing the audience during the stories like laughter plays a role.
- Mike featured elements of Self Deprecating Humor.
- Aware of Self, and makes the audience aware that he is aware of himself.
- The way he sets up stories makes the audience crave knowing some sort of ending.
- Establishment of setting up the story and the plot and how it is put together plays a role.
Why did Mike want to tell that story?
- Entertainment and Shock?
- Something so shocking – feels like you have to tell people.
- Very well-thought out story.
You do write a script and record yourself reading a script with our kind of Story-Telling.
- Will use the I-Movie Software and add some Photographs.
- Audio Track and Visual Track
- Blend Audio Track and Musical Track
Do we need to have deep meaning to our stories?
- Discuss it next time.

Prep Note – 11/9/2023

By Nicholas Javier

On November 8, 2023

In Javier, prep note

After listening to the video, I found the story to be impactful. I enjoyed the music that was played throughout it, and accompanied with the shifting images — gave a very familiar and almost warm-hearted sensation to the narrative. There is notably a deeper theme to the story that has to do with “images” and “appearances.” It gives an additional level of insight into the life of Professor Dolson.

The images were likely most impactful. At times it was comedic, such as the image of the farmer and his wife painting with a unique take, and other times it helped guide the imaginative process with images of locations. The end where she starts describing the neighborhood, I recognized the song as Amazing Grace after doing a bit of research. It was interesting feeling and listening to how beyond the role of “words” told by Professor Dolson and “images” shown and guided by the picture- the additional depth of “sound and music” in shaping the story.

Prep Note – 11/7/2023

By Nicholas Javier

On November 6, 2023

In Javier, prep note

I’ve noticed that I listened to a story that a couple others in the class also listened to. Drawn to the story by its more lighthearted and comedic description, I enjoyed the story because of how the narrator told the story and the actual meaning of the story. The description: “David Lepelstat is convinced of his superhero powers until they get him into a deadly situation.” immediately sets the story and narrative with a rather juvenile and joyful allusion to “Superheroes” and in the exposition where he explains his tendency to fixate on one nerdy subject to the next, he builds a personal connection with the listener.

The narrative itself resembles a self-reflective tense, as he’s recalling back to his past actively in front of us. He doesn’t only explain the facts, but he includes the cognitive process and the actual thinking of his younger self, such as how he did not understand the definition of “partner” when his family described Micheal or “Hot-Wheels when I’d moved on to Power Rangers.” Cluing us into his younger self’s thoughts makes the experience a lot more personable.

The way he implemented comedy into his story was an interesting element. Telling a story about drowning would usually be a more tense experience, however, from the exposition to the actual details of the event, you can tell that he has his audience hooked to his every word. Throughout the story, the presence and power of laughter helps the story ebb and flow in David’s form of story telling.

Interesting themes in the story revolve around family, relationships with others, and ties that transcend blood or associations. The connection the speaker has with Micheal is a very strong Uncle-Nephew bond, and one that isn’t easily forgotten despite Micheal and the narrator’s uncle breaking up.

Prep Note 11/2/2023

By Nicholas Javier

On November 2, 2023

In Javier, prep note

Reading Chapters 4-10 was an interesting but also intimidating experience. There were points in the narrative that I noticed there was a point where they were almost glorifying the experience of going through prison, envisioning their suffering as proof of their heroism in terms of the revolution. There was definitely a climax in terms of the violence, and a deeper sense of fear settled in for the main character’s environment. Fear develops as her friends and others decide to leave the country. Larger issues such as disparity in social class is also highlighted.

Her farewell to her uncle was an additional significant shift I think in her childhood. A man who had grown into a figure for her to idolize. Another significant point in the interactions is how she eventually tells God to get out of her head later in the same chapter (9). Her mother’s experiences in Chapter 10 also strike a significantly darker shift now as the author continues to get older and older. In the art, she looks different than she did a year ago. Perhaps that is to reflect the change.

In terms of the Book Arts Studio, I thought it was an interesting and enrichening experience. Although my story was much more simple in nature and simply tlls a story about the Sun, the Moon, and an Eclipse, it was a fun activity that also gets me thinking about how I’ll eventually transition my personal story from oral into picture-book form.

Self Note:
“Image that Illustrates a Metaphor:” “They burned him with an iron” (pg. 49) — Not a literal iron as in the appliance, as her younger child-like mind thinks.
“Image that Illustrates Internal Thought:” I thought my Father was dead (pg. 28)