So What?

Sometimes ENG 201 felt like this. [Gif of Matt Smith in the movie Womb, repeatedly asking "so?"]
Today I'm going to ask it one last time.

Throughout this semester, we have repeatedly learned the importance of asking, “so what?”  You develop a topic then ask, “so what?” to identify its significance.  You provide evidence such as a quote or fact and then ask, “so what?” to show readers how it furthers your argument.  Well, after asking "so what" in six blog posts, five essays, one multimedia project, and one presentation, I think it’s time to ask the question one last time.  I finished ENG 201H, so what?

Well, there are a lot of answers to that question, such as, “so now I understand that there’s a lot more to research than I ever knew before.”  I learned that research varies across disciplines, so different researchers collect different kinds of data.  This varies based on the field’s epistemology, or what it considers as knowledge.  In scientific fields, there is more emphasis on experiments and quantitative data, whereas humanities tend to emphasize surveys and interviews with qualitative data.  Moreover, even different topics and purposes require different methods of research.  My informational paper on queerplatonic relationships required me to look at blogs and wikis, which are not typically viewed as credible sources, because that is where the term originated.  My evaluative essay required personal experience as research, in the form of pictures and observations from my visit to The Dreamer.  My writing to convince project relied much more heavily on quantitative data, in the form of statistics gathered from credible studies.  This class opened my eyes to many methods of gathering research that I had not previously considered.

Another answer to this “so what” question is that this class provided me with many opportunities to experience the life of an academic.  In addition to our many discussions on “academic writing,” we were able to visit SCREE in order to see how research was presented to other academics.  From interacting with presenters there, I was able to see just how diverse research actually is.  I talked to one student who was researching the question of why witches were female by examining historical documents and contemporary writings on the Salem Witch trials.  In his research, he found a question that not only had not been answered, but also had not been asked: why were witches always portrayed as women?  His research primarily came from the writings of others, but other researchers relied on surveys, interviews, and observations to collect their data.  One group of students I talked to were researching what makes someone a quality sex educator, so they relied on interviews of students and both of their parents to provide a comprehensive picture.  Another researcher relied on a combination of personal experience and analysis of others’ writings to examine the lack of female musical conductors.  It was very interesting to hear how she approached the topic from a music perspective rather than a gender studies perspective, which was my original thought from looking at her title.  But common to all of their stories was finding their passion, searching for a gap in existing research about that topic, and deciding how they could best fill that gap in knowledge.  And this is truly what the life of an academic entails – a constant quest for greater knowledge.

I would also like to expand on this “so what” question that we have used so frequently, and add a technique that I learned from Leadership Safari training: after you ask “so what,” ask “now what.”  That is, after you establish the significance of something, consider what this means for you in the future.   All that I have learned in ENG 201 has not only made me a better writer, but it has given me tools to ensure that I keep developing throughout my college career.  I will keep practicing the habits of mind that we discussed, keep implementing templates from They Say/I Say into my writing, keep carefully considering the needs of my audience, and keep practicing the research and revision techniques in The Craft of Research.  I will continue practicing these skills throughout my college career, especially in creating my capstone project. 

These are all good answers to the question “I finished ENG 201H, so what?” But I think an even more important answer is that it gave me passion for the life of an academic.  Certainly it provided me with many important skills, many new perspectives, and many wonderful opportunities, but I am most grateful for the fact that it also taught me to desire these things.  It showed me just how incredible the pursuit of knowledge is and sparked a new excitement in me that will carry me through my years in college and beyond.  And I think that settles the question of “so what” better than anything.

Matt [in Doctor Who] celebrating because we finally got our question answered! (And it's almost summer!)

My First Video! :D

I've recently become a bit obsessed with a couple of beautiful videos from some creative, hilarious minds on the internet.  The first, a Sherlock Crack!Vid that I have watched roughly eight times (now make that nine), and the second, a Doctor Who Disney Musical, which has moved me almost to tears on multiple occasions.  So when we were told to make a "multimedia presentation" using Popcorn, I instead heard "Cali's turn to try her hand at a video like this."  So I picked from one of my other fandoms, and created the following:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone -- As told by Disney music

Unfortunately, after spending a few hours creating this video, I realized something similar (and somewhat more extensive) already existed.  But even so, I learned a lot from my experience.

Considering the Habits of Mind that we have discussed since the beginning of the semester, this exercise particularly helped me develop creativity, flexibility, and persistence.  This project both demanded and developed a great sense of creativity, not least of all since I had never created anything similar before this.  In all seriousness, the videos I referenced in the introduction required a great deal of creativity to make, and I aspired to make something equally as creative.  This required many artistic decisions of which songs to match up with which scenes in order to construct a meaning true to the original film from outside songs.

This project also demanded much flexibility.  In working with a new medium, I had some difficulty determining what I could and could not do, which influenced the future direction of my project.  This required me to change my approach as I continued working on it.  This was most apparent in the lengths of each song segment.  I began with very long, largely uncut scenes which quickly became rather boring.  As I learned more about the technology I was using, I realized it was necessary to cut and splice together many shorter sections to convey the same ideas in a more interesting, engaging way.

The last habit, persistence, was probably not necessary in this project, but I insisted on making it as close to perfect as I could.  This translated into several additional hours adjusting clips to be in precisely the right location (which meant I had five tracks playing together by the time I finished).  While it did take more time than was absolutely necessary, this resulted in a project that I was actually quite proud of and it taught me the rewards of persistence.

This project revealed some important benefits and drawbacks of using multimedia presentations.  One clear benefit is that, if executed properly, it can provide a concise, engaging presentation related to the topic. A one-minute video can be much more compelling than a page of text presenting the same information.  It also allows the author to be more creative in how they present their message, which can draw a wider audience.  As with any media, however, there are some limitations.  The biggest problem, in my presentation, was due to technological issues.  As I mentioned, I had five tracks that were all timed precisely to fit with one another.  Several times I tried to play them back and one would glitch and become out-of-sync with the others, which in some cases, even somewhat changed the message I was trying to get across (some of you may also have had this problem if you tried watching my video).

For my multimedia project later this semester, I will probably develop some sort of PSA that combines statistics with a limited amount of story telling.  This may be in the form of a video or an interactive infographic.  My topic does not particularly lend itself well to another, more visual medium like what I created here;  it is a very serious topic and such a vivid presentation of it would likely be triggering for some.

So, while I can't create something like this for my actual multimedia presentation, I did learn a lot from this project and I greatly enjoyed my creation.  If you also enjoyed my project, as well as the other links I provided, you may also like this link, which I stumbled upon in collecting the others.

P.S.  Thanks for sticking with me through all of the fandoms in this post (extra thank you if you clicked any of the links!)

Academic Writing

Growing up, my mother would always ask my sister and me to proofread things that she wrote for her business.  I remember our most common remark was that she wrote “too fancy.”  She had a talent for making an email sound like the opening lines of a dissertation.  Over the years I’ve begun to pick up on this habit, and can no longer send an email without using clunky phrases like “attached please find,” “regarding,” or “confirm.”  The first Facebook message I ever sent included the phrase “Could you clarify please?” when someone suggested I friend a profile with a name I didn’t recognize.  When discussing word choice and genre, these embarrassing examples came strikingly to mind.

While the genres of email or Facebook messages don’t lend themselves well to my peculiar vocabulary, academic writing has proven to be much more up my alley.  In fact, heightened language is one of the most obvious hallmarks of academic writing, and I can’t seem to stop using it.  As I consider my upcoming research paper, I feel fairly confident I can achieve a paper that sounds very academic and has the necessary tone, but our recent discussions about academic writing have raised several more challenges of good academic writing.  

In addition to using words that make one sound intelligent, one has to actually make a clear, intelligent argument, including addressing alternative views, crafting the argument as a conversation with other academics, avoiding words that complicate simple explanations, and defining terms that may be specific to one’s discipline.  The last one, in particular, is a weakness of mine.  I’ve become so involved in my areas of interest that I sometimes forget much of what I take for granted is not necessarily common knowledge (you mean not everyone knows what gender performance is?).  Aside from this flaw, I can generally present clear, somewhat concise explanations that still use academic language. 

The biggest challenge I need to address, though, is framing my argument as a conversation with other views (including opposing views).  This is a relatively new concept for me, so when researching my topic I will attempt to specifically search for articles that contradict what I am saying.  That way I can address and rebut these counterarguments to strengthen my own position.

As I move forward with my writing this semester, I also need to practice the habits of mind from the Framework for Success, particularly persistence and openness.  The upcoming research project is a somewhat larger writing project, in both time and extensiveness, so persistence will be especially important.  I am often guilty of finishing an essay, revising it once or twice, and then never wanting to touch it again.  Even if I’m interested in the topic, I get easily tired of the paper and find it more difficult to continue making revisions.  This I need to work on.  Additionally, I need to continue developing the habit of openness in searching for alternative positions to the one I am arguing.  This will allow me to give opposing views a fair treatment, while also maintaining my own position.  I am sincerely convicted of my beliefs, but I want to ensure that conviction does not morph into closed-mindedness.

Through further practice of academic writing, I hope to become more adept at writing within this genre.  I have learned much about what this academic writing entails, and hopefully my attempts to master it will be more successful than my attempts to master email or private messaging.  Or at the very least, far less embarrassing.

Arguments

When you think of arguments, you don't typically think of this:

Unless you're a Friends fan, perhaps. But in the context of academic writing, Parker's idea of an "incredible fight" is much closer to what an argument should be.  Despite the negative emotions this word usually invokes, an academic argument is about entering a conversation to provide a new perspective on an existing issue, and that's something to get excited about!

Say No to "Yes or No"

This semester, I've learned a lot about what makes a good argument, but what stood out to me the most was that an argument doesn't have to be simply "for" or "against" something.  In her article "Finding the Good Argument OR Why Bother with Logic?," Rebecca Jones explains that finding a compromise between two seemingly opposing viewpoints is much more effective than fervently arguing for one side or the other.  Jones says, "While many pro and con arguments are valid, they can erase nuance, negate the local and particular, and shut down the very purpose of having an argument: the possibility that you might change your mind, learn something new, or solve a problem." And, it can turn your argument into this:

This mentality is vastly different from what I learned in high school, where if you showed any semblance of indecision on the pro/con scale, you were marked down for not being confident in your assertion.  In They Say/ I Say, however, Graff and Berkenstein explain that a writer can agree and disagree with a point simultaneously, and that ambivalence is sometimes a strength which shows respect for the complexity of an issue.

Supporting Your Argument

Once you have a sufficiently intricate stance on the topic, you then need to support your argument.  The vocabulary of this can seem a bit overwhelming at first: the claim is the assertion you're trying to prove, your reasons support your claim, your evidence supports your reasons, and your warrants ensure they're all properly related to one another so your argument is valid.  The distinction between reasons and evidence is still a bit fuzzy to me, but as Booth, Colomb, and Williams state in The Craft of Research, evidence is something you search for (facts that exist independently of your argument) and reasons are supports for your claim that you develop from this evidence.  Using these together provides support for the position you are arguing.

Connecting Your Support

You also need to show your readers how your evidence relates to your claims - this is where warrants come in.  Very few would consider this a compelling argument:

The idea of warrant made the most sense to me, largely due to the fact that I just studied logic in my philosophy class, where we frequently evaluated the validity of arguments.  In order for a deductive argument to be valid, its conclusion must necessarily be true if its premises are true (an inductive argument may not necessitate the conclusion from the premises, but it will provide strong support for it).  The warrant is the premise that relates the conclusion (or claim) to the other premises (or reasons/evidence).

Incredible Arguments

Keeping these things in mind as you write can greatly strengthen your arguments, and make them "incredible," as our friend Parker would say.  With a thoughtful position and strong evidence and warrants, your argument will certainly be something to get excited about.

Queerplatonic Relationships

This post is from an essay I wrote about something that I'm actually quite passionate about. I know it's considerably longer than my other posts, but I hope you'll find it worth the rather lengthy read. On the other hand, if you'd like to hear even more about the subject, I've included links to my references, which provide some wonderful information as well. Enjoy!

Introduction

“Tyler and I have known each other for almost ten years now, and we’re really close.  Whenever we meet up to do something we end up spending the whole day together.  We can talk for hours!  Honestly, he probably knows more about me than I do sometimes.  I don’t know how to explain it, we just go together perfectly.”

“So are you guys, like, dating?”

“No, we’re…”

        I have always been uncomfortable with the phrase “just friends.”  To me, it underscored the subtle cultural indoctrination that romantic relationships are somehow above platonic relationships in the imaginary relationship hierarchy.  As journalist and social activist blogger S.E. Smith observes, “There’s a tendency to value romantic and sexual relationships over other types of relationships, where friendship[s]… are considered the training wheels for the real relationship… We are, after all, just the second fiddles, the entertainment while the primary partner is away” (Smith).  Here, Smith repudiates society’s arbitrary ranking of relationships and criticizes its tendency to devalue platonic relationships.  I agree with these criticisms, and add that such views imply a dichotomy between friendships and relationships which can be frustrating for someone like me who feels uncomfortable in a world of platonic-romantic binary.  

So when I discovered a new category, queerplatonic relationships, I was ecstatic.  Coined in 2010 by a community of aromantic bloggers, this label describes a relationship that involves a close emotional connection and a commitment level similar to that of a relationship, but is not romantic (“Queerplatonic”).  This acknowledges that a platonic relationship can be the primary relationship in someone’s life, contrary to the view that Smith and I denounce.  

But not everyone shared my enthusiasm for this new distinction.  In an informal survey I recently conducted, several respondents expressed apathy or even disdain for this new categorization; several thought the label would be confusing or impact the relationship negatively, and one even said it was “ridiculous” (QP Relationships).  Contrary to what these individuals believe, queerplatonic relationships are necessary to fill a conceptual gap in society’s understanding of platonic and romantic affection, and understanding them is beneficial to people in such relationships and society in general.

The Third Category

It was clear to Tyler and me that our feelings for each other were never romantic.  And yet I trusted him and confided in him more than any of my romantic partners, and he felt the same.  Instead of the usual middle-school crushes, my journal was filled with stories of how much fun I had with Tyler.  I would describe him to people he had never met, just because I wanted to brag about knowing such a talented individual.  I’d even written a poem about him and he’d written a song about me.  Many of my friends thought I had a crush on him, but I never even considered the idea of us dating.  And yet I always knew he was more than a friend to me.

        It is essential to first understand that a queerplatonic relationship breaks free from the platonic/romantic binary system and associated cultural expectations.  As my survey showed, there are a lot of misconceptions surrounding queerplatonic relationships; some respondents saw no distinction between queerplatonic relationships and friendships and others mistakenly thought the label implied a sexualized friendship (QP Relationships).  This appears to be an attempt to fit the relationship into existing categories, rather than acknowledge its renouncement of them.

However, individuals in queerplatonic relationships understand this label very differently than many who took my survey.  In an interview with The Huffington Post, Victoria Allen, who is in a queerplatonic relationship, describes her experience as more intense than a best friend and quite similar to a romantic relationship, but with intense platonic affection rather than romantic attraction (Brekke).  Others, especially in the blogging community, describe similar experiences.  QP Advice, a popular advice blog for queerplatonic relationships maintained by four experts on this new term, explains that people in these relationships may consider themselves as partners, often calling each other “zucchinis” to differentiate them from romantic partners, and may spend their lives together, live with one another, or even raise children with each other (“Read the FAQ”).  They also clarify that these can occur between two or more people of any/no gender, romantic orientation, or sexual orientation; the “queer” in queerplatonic refers to the concept of queering relationships (defining them outside of societal expectations), not a particular sexual or romantic orientation (“Read the FAQ”).

I especially admired one explanation of queerplatonic relationships found on Aromantic Aardvark, an advice blog for individuals on the aromantic spectrum (people who feel little to no romantic attraction to others).  It describes queerplatonic relationships as the “mix-and-match” of relationships, explaining that this can make them difficult to understand; the following post brilliantly describes one aromantic individual’s experience with queerplatonic relationships:

“[With romance] there is still a narrative that is generally followed and things that are expected in a romantic relationship… Likewise, there are certain things expected in strictly platonic friendships… Queerplatonic to me means the breaking down of narratives. It means no rules. It means doing, essentially, whatever you are comfortable with… Trying to strictly define a queerplatonic narrative defeats the whole purpose of it. The purpose of it is to forge your own definition, to say ‘none of these words fit, so I’m going to make my own’… It’s uncharted territory that has no societal bounds.” (Aromantic Aardvark)

This individual believes an exact definition goes against the spirit of this categorization, and everyone in such a relationship will define it a bit differently; understandably, this makes comprehension of queerplatonic labels difficult.  I find it helpful to think of it as similar to best friends with a greater level of closeness and commitment, but it is important to acknowledge that it disregards society’s expectations of what is appropriate for platonic relationships and instead allows individuals to set their own expectations for the relationship.

What’s in a Name?

Over winter break I attempted explaining my romantic orientation and my queerplatonic relationship with Tyler to Simon,* a close friend of mine.  I explained that I identified as greyromantic, meaning I felt little romantic interest in others, and that Tyler was my zucchini (and what that meant).  For the next hour, I listened to Simon tell me why I was wrong to feel so excited about these labels and that I shouldn’t use them; labels only make it easier for people to ridicule you and make you feel ashamed of your identity.  I told him he didn’t have to worry about that happening to me anymore.  He had already accomplished it.

        Even if they acknowledge the nature of such a relationship, many people seem to object to labeling it; one well-intentioned survey respondent wrote “We shouldn’t have to make a new category of relationships. Love is love” (QP Relationships).  Surely, as they believe, would not a friendship by any other name still be as close?  While beautifully sentimental, and containing a grain of truth, this view ignores the privilege from which it speaks.  Kaz, a blogger who identifies as greyromantic (on the aromantic spectrum but involving some romantic interest in others), expressed frustration over their platonic relationship not being afforded the same importance as a romantic relationship; commenters expressed having similar experiences and developed the terms “queerplatonic” and “zucchini” because no sufficient descriptions existed (“A/romanticism”).  Charlie Damocles, who has been in a queerplatonic relationship for about a year, felt the same way, and chose to adopt the label recently as a result.  In an e-mail interview I conducted, they explained, “We decided to adopt the label because calling each other friends just didn't feel right because our relationship was clearly more than that, but it definitely wasn't romantic either. I feel that it was a good decision because when people ask what my relationship is with my zucchini, I can say that we're platonic partners which seems to hold more weight than just a best friend” (Damocles).  Like Kaz, they feel that the label helps others understand the significance of their relationship.  Tyler agrees with these views and explains that the labels felt right for our relationship as well.  In an e-mail interview, he said, “When we had first talked about the label and what it meant, it was clear to both of us that we could identify with it. I feel that it was a great decision to adopt the label… It was a great way to illustrate our commitment and better understand it… I know that using this label can have a positive impact because it's had one in my life” (Kish).  As he explains here, this label made it much easier to explain our relationship to others and gave us a deeper understanding of it ourselves.

  People who say these labels are irrelevant are speaking from a place of privilege – society has developed labels that they feel are adequate for their relationships and thus see no need to complicate the system further.  They get along perfectly fine with labels such as “friend,” “boyfriend,” “girlfriend,” “partner,” etc., but they are forgetting that these categories do not work for everyone.  As I tried to explain to Simon, since he has no need of this label it is irrelevant to his life, but that irrelevance does not extend to the lives of others, especially those who choose to adopt it.  Charlie understands how someone who had never experienced a relationship like this would have difficulty understanding the need for a label, but they also maintain that this should not allow people to begrudge others the use of it.  On this subject, they explained, “[Labels] are meant for the users to be able to describe things for themselves and identify with people who have similar experiences.  It doesn't matter if one person finds it irrelevant.  If someone thinks it's relevant to their life, then that's all that really matters” (Damocles).  And clearly, many do; Kaz, Victoria, Charlie, Tyler, I, and many others feel this label is beneficial in our relationships.

However, this actually is quite the opposite of what some survey respondents thought, saying not only would the label be irrelevant, but it would also add pressure or expectations to the relationship if adopted (QP Relationships).  But according to the description of queerplatonic relationships found on Aromantic Aardvark; they are meant to be about breaking down limiting relationship categories, rather than simply creating another rigid box to put oneself in. When asked how they would respond to people who feel the label would be harmful, Charlie insightfully remarked that any label can have damaging effects if it is used to define rather than to describe a relationship; the label “queerplatonic” itself is not the problem (Damocles). In fact, I would argue that is a step towards a solution for this problem, because it invites people to consider how to define their own relationships, rather than choosing from the ones society has defined for them.  Queerplatonic is not like adding an “answer choice c” to an existing multiple choice relationship question; it is like changing the format to “fill-in-the-blank.”  

The Unknown Zucchini

I had known Tyler for more than nine years before we realized we were zucchinis.  When I first read the description of queerplatonic relationships, I couldn’t help but think of him.  Instantly it felt right, and I began to understand the special relationship we had in a whole new light.  I texted him that night, saying I had something exciting to tell him when I visited next week.  I was irrationally nervous; I knew the label wouldn’t change anything, it was just a description of what we already had, but I confess I was a little worried he might think it was weird.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.  As soon as I explained it to him, he got this big smile on his face and told me I was his zucchini, too.

        Understanding queerplatonic relationships can have significant benefits for people who are in such relationships without knowing it.  In spite of being an obscure label, this type of relationship is quite common.  For example, in the survey I conducted, only 25% of respondents had heard the term before, yet almost half said they were currently or previously in a relationship that fit the definition (QP Relationships).  More noteworthy still, the majority of those who said they did have a relationship like this had not heard of the term before – very few had heard the term and been in a queerplatonic relationship (QP Relationships).  

I found an interesting example of this discrepancy in a post by Chelsea Fagan, a writer for Thought Catalog, that one of my Facebook friends shared.  In the post, which Chelsea calls “A Love Letter to a Best Friend,” she describes feeling an intense emotional connection with her best friend that closely resembled a relationship (Fagan).  She details how they were often mistaken for a couple, defied the rules of what friends do and what partners do, hated how society treats platonic relationships as less important, and felt almost like they have been partners (Fagan).  She even says, “I hate that society has made it so that expression of love between two friends — no matter how close they are — always feels a bit odd... There is no part of our love that is lesser or unimportant because it’s platonic… We’ve supported and cared for one another more deeply than a lot of our ‘real’ relationships.” (Fagan).  In my opinion, this is an excellent description of a queerplatonic relationship.  However, in the post she never uses “queerplatonic” or any related terms, and describes the sadness that she feels in having to move on with the lives she says they “should” have with romantic partners, moving away from each other as part of a natural and necessary process (Fagan).  

A lot of stories develop this way because people feel they “should” have a romantic partner to settle down with and “should not” commit themselves to a platonic friend because that is not how society teaches us to be happy (one need look no further than the comments on this article, or my friend who shared it, to see how many people this story resonated with).  Queerplatonic relationships take these “shoulds” and throw them out the window in favor of “wants.”  Perhaps Chelsea’s story would have been different if she did not feel forced to follow expectations of how their lives “should” be, and instead explored what they wanted them to be.  And perhaps it would still be the same, but I think Kaz, Charlie, Victoria, and Tyler would agree that it is infinitely better to consciously make that choice.

Conclusion

Shortly after my experience with Simon, an old friend of mine, John,* began messaging me and asking what was new in my life.  Hesitantly, I decided to try explaining my romantic orientation and my zucchini.  The result was vastly different from my previous experience.  John was very understanding, surprisingly supportive, and genuinely happy for me.  He said he hadn’t met Tyler, but had heard great things about him and would be glad of anyone that made me as happy as I am.  I finally felt accepted.

Far from being irrelevant, queerplatonic relationships fill a conceptual gap in the understanding of romantic and platonic relationships, which can benefit people in such relationships and society at large.  They break down the divide between romantic and platonic affection and, as one survey respondent phrased it, “allow [people] to see that there's more than just the black and white of ‘in a relationship’ or ‘just friends’” (QP Relationships). Understanding such relationships can benefit individuals who would not otherwise recognize that they were in one, but it can also promote an atmosphere of inclusivity and relationship freedom on a broader scale.  Charlie asserts that understanding queerplatonic relationships would free people from feeling pressured to enter a romantic relationship with someone, even if they were not interested in a queerplatonic relationship, because it would teach them that platonic friendships are just as significant and valuable (Damocles).  In that way, this leads to a healthier view of relationships in general – that they should be dictated by the people in them and not cultural norms, relationship hierarchies, or societal pressures which may not be ideal for the relationship in question.  This concept has clearly benefited many of the individuals referenced in this essay, and will continue to help others as awareness spreads.  While it has only existed for about five years, it appears the label “queerplatonic” is here to stay.  With increased awareness and understanding, it may someday overtake “just friends” in its popularity as an explanation of close platonic relationships.  Hopefully one day people will instead be able to respond to incorrect inquiries about romance with a simple, “Nope, we’re queerplatonic zucchinis.”

Epilogue

Tyler and I, since identifying as queerplatonic zucchinis, have realized that we share many ideas about the future that we would have previously thought were “weird” for a friendship.  In his interview, he related this to one of his favorite memories of us: “Over the years we've made a tradition of sitting in the car at the end of the night and just talking for hours… We'd always joke that we wouldn't have to say goodbye if we lived together. As we've gotten older we've realized how much we'd like to really do that. We talk about the kind of house we would want, and how we would decorate... We talk about how much we want to have our movie marathons, have our friends come visit us, be there for the big stuff in each other’s lives, and grow old together. Those nights are always my favorite. We're always in the car, but we're never in a big hurry to get somewhere, because no matter where we're going we know we're going there together.”

*Names have been changed.

References

"A/romanticism." Kaz's Scribblings. N.p., 24 Dec. 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2015. <http://kaz.dreamwidth.org/238564.html?thread=1342436>.

Aromantic Aardvark. "Romantic Relationships vs. Queerplatonic Relationships." N.p., 21 June 2012. Web. <http://aromanticaardvark.tumblr.com/post/25625686403/romantic-relationships-vs-queerplatonic>.

Brekke, Kira. "This Is What It Means To Be Aromantic, Demiromantic And Queerplatonic." The Huffington Post. N.p., 8 Oct. 2014. Web. 1 Feb. 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/08/aromantic-demiromantic-queerplatonic_n_5948256.html>.

Damocles, Charlie.  Email interview.  2 Feb. 2015.

Fagan, Chelsea. "A Love Letter To A Best Friend." Thought Catalog. N.p., 25 Mar. 2014. Web. 2 Feb. 2015. <http://thoughtcatalog.com/chelsea-fagan/2014/03/a-love-letter-to-a-best-friend/>.

Kish, Tyler. Email interview. 31 Jan. 2015.

QP Relationships. 27 Jan. 2015. Informal Survey.

"Queerplatonic." Asexuality.org. The Asexual Visibility and Education Network, n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2015. <http://www.asexuality.org/wiki/index.php?title=Queerplatonic>.

"Read the FAQ." Queerplatonic and Aromantic Advice. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2015. <http://qpadvice.tumblr.com/faq>.

Smith, S. E. "I Don’t Mean to Baffle You, But I Do: Queerplatonic Partnerships." This Ain't Livin'. N.p., 29 June 2012. Web. 1 Feb. 2015. <http://meloukhia.net/2012/06/i_dont_mean_to_baffle_you_but_i_do_queerplatonic_partnerships/>.

A Letter to Myself

I don’t pretend to be an expert on academic writing, so I hardly feel qualified to explain it to anyone else, let alone give tips on how to do it well.  Instead, I’ll attempt to give myself advice before my first essay of the year, and maybe one of you will find it interesting as well.

Dear self,

Best of luck on your first essay for the year! They say first impressions are hard to change, but no pressure.  In the hopes that this will help you knock it out of the park, here are some important components of academic writing.

In academic writing the most important thing is to convey your ideas effectively.  “Entering the conversation” involves connecting those ideas to existing pieces of work in order to share how your perspective is unique and show what new thoughts you can bring to the table.  Academic writing is not, as you formerly believed, merely an exercise to demonstrate what you have learned.  It involves showing how what you’ve learned matters, and why people should pay attention to it.  Ultimately, academic writing seeks to solve problems and expand human understanding, so each writer attempts to build upon the work of others to contribute their perspective to this overall goal.

An important part of this process is showing how your ideas fit into the already existing conversation.  Writers use various “moves” to demonstrate this, by showing how they agree, disagree, or otherwise respond to various sources they have used in their research.  From the templates found in They Say/ I Say to the sophisticated integration of personal anecdotes and supporting research found in The Shallows, I’ve seen that there are many ways to accomplish this.  All of them, however, use research as more than simply a way to back up one’s claims (you know you do this, so make sure you do more this time).  Research can be a launching point, a disagreement to clear up, a reinforcement of one’s own experiences, a misconception to address, an expert opinion to support one’s point, etc.  For example, one common move is to say “most people think _____, but according to ______ it’s really more like ______, and I agree.” This type of move incorporates many different sources, in instances of both agreement and disagreement.  This enables writers to establish their own opinion as well as how it fits in the opinions of others.

In addition to establishing how one fits in with the perspectives of others in the “conversation” of academic writing, it’s important to remember who we’re talking to, our audience.  Who we are trying to convince plays a large role in how we craft our arguments.  First graders understand arguments with simple language, where scientists require arguments with extensive evidence.  Audiences who already know about the topic may be insulted if it is presented in layman’s terms, but those unfamiliar with the topic may lose interest if lofty language is used.  In general, it’s important to know what your audience expects from you so you can understand how best to convince them that what you have to say matters.  Do they want to be entertained?  Enlightened?  Amused?  Do they need a problem solved? How much do they already know about my topic? These are the sort of questions to keep in mind throughout the writing process.  Addressing these effectively will make your writing much more interesting and convincing to your intended audience.

But all of these moves and considerations are only effective when you have a good topic for your writing.  What do I mean by a good topic?  I mean a topic that is specific enough to be adequately covered by your writing and that you can convince your readers is something they should care about (and of course, you should care about it too, otherwise this step is much more difficult).  Once you have a general topic, ask questions about it to figure out what angle you want to take in addressing it.  Evaluate these questions to see which ones are worth pursuing.  Then, once you establish your perspective, keep asking “so what?” until you get an answer that will make your readers care about it too.  Make sure that your topic holds significance with them, not just yourself.  Doing this will help you develop a specific problem, rather than a broad topic, that is much more manageable to tackle in this type of paper.

Keep these principles of academic writing in mind as you develop your essay so you can put your best paper forward!

Best wishes,

Me

P.S. Don’t procrastinate!

Who am I (as a Writer)?

Who am I as a writer?

This is the question I was asked to reflect on, but I think a better question would be, “who do I want to be as a writer?”

My writing, for many years, was predominantly either academic or intended for my eyes only.  I wrote the essays I was assigned and scratched down a few lines of poetry to hide away in my drawer, but rarely did I pen anything more ambitious.  Only recently has this begun to change.  In high school, I was involved in the International Baccalaureate program, which required many pieces of self-directed writing across all subjects.  I was given many open-ended assignments, such as evaluating a controversial decision in history, creating an artist’s statement, researching a mathematical concept or theory, and conducting and reporting my own experiment in biology.  Because they were so open ended, these assignments allowed me the freedom to explore areas that I was interested in, and consequently resulted in the pieces of writing I am most proud of to this day.  This, more than anything, helped me develop my voice and figure out who I want to be as a writer.

“So who is that?” you might ask. Well, I’m not entirely sure yet, which is part of what I hope this class will help me discover.  I have found that my values as a writer line up closely with the seven habits of the mind we discussed in class, particularly curiosity, openness, and creativity.  In my writing, I love to explore new ways of thinking and learn as much as I can about novel approaches I can share with others.  I especially love creativity in writing, whether in poetry, prose, or academic writing, where I can think outside the box and find new ways to present ideas.  All seven of the habits listed have some bearing on my writing, but I feel these three describe my style best.

When considering who I am as a writer, I feel this connects inextricably with what I choose to write about.  I am interested in many areas, which has made settling on a major a rather daunting task, but the common theme among them tends to be improving understanding to promote harmony.  That’s nice, but what does it mean? To put it more simply, I like to help people understand themselves, their world, and each other, by explaining things that they may experience but are unaware of, like gender roles, quasiplatonic relationships, or introversion/extroversion (this last link is actually to a post from my other blog).  I am very interested in psychology, feminism, philosophy, art, gender studies, Doctor Who, and just things that are unconventional.  I think uniqueness is one of the most beautiful things on earth, and I want to celebrate it in all its forms.

So, I hope this class will help me grow as a writer and continue to find my voice on issues I am passionate about.  I expect it will give me more tools to use as I learn to become not just a better writer than I am, but the writer that I want to be.