ENG101, section 05. Fall 2020. Emory University.
When I first saw the black clips as a child, I thought they were supposed to be a briefcase, so when I saw it laying on my desk, I knew exactly what to do for this assignment. My drawing skills are pretty terrible, but I tried to show a businessman at a crosswalk with his briefcase – this seems like the perfect example of a briefcase’s ergonomic use, but lo! It is not a briefcase, but a binder clip.
The first thing that came into my mind was the ring I wear. When I was a child I always had a fantasy that an alien was protecting me from any injury or mishap. The luckiness to have my joyfull childhood had been unbelievable for me who seen many of my peers going through unpleasant times. Yet, for me, I cannot find similar experience in my reminiscence. Therefore, I decided to recreate my alien friend, Momo, into my life with a physical medium, my ring. Since I do not have any talent or training on drawing, I simply replicated Momo’s past appearance from my head with a pen. The colors or details are vacant because they are also missing in my memory, and I would not want to be a blasphemer to my original belief. To me, Momo bacame more than a childhood fantasy, it is more like something that can make me overcome obstacles in my life.
Image: Drawn and taken by me
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a cricket league hosted in India, with the teams representing cities or states in the country. Although usually held in March/April of the year, it was postponed this year because of the coronavirus pandemic (no surprise there). More than 6 months into the lockdown, the IPL was an extremely welcome source of entertainment for a whole bunch of cricket-crazy Indians. Every night, my family and I watch the 4-hour-long match without fail. I’ve had to adjust my sleep schedule, dinner time, and homework and study timings, but I try not miss the match as far as possible. I enjoy watching cricket in general, but this daily ritual is even more special as it allows me to spend more time with my family, especially my grandparents– which I usually don’t. Since the IPL began a week back, I spend 25% of my waking hours watching that match. So, it’s not surprising that I chose to go with a cricket-themed idea for this post that I’m calling ‘No Cap On Family Time’.
The colours worn by the cricketer in my drawing resemble those of my favourite team– Royal Challengers Bangalore. The Challengers have consistently performed badly over the past 12 years since the first tournament was hosted, and so I get a lot of sympathy, confusion and even ridicule when I tell someone that I’m rooting for them. But, I like that they’re the underdogs– it makes every win extra special.
The Sprite bottle cap is the ball. The idea to use the bottle cap stemmed from the fact that I often (definitely more often than is good for my body) spend these family IPL-watching evenings, drinking Coke or Sprite, and eating ‘Chutney’ sandwich. So, although it appears to be very simple and unoriginal, I thought that the bottle cap seemed appropriate to use in this case.
Coming up with this idea for my Sunday sketch was absurdly random. I started with trying to find items in my room that would create a picture from a drawing and an object; however, after rummaging through my room for about thirty minutes, I gave up. Late into the night, not even focusing on the side quest, I thought about Sonic the Hedgehog and the new movie from a meme I saw on social media. I then looked up Eggman as an idea for the centerpiece of my sketch. It should be noted that I am terrible at drawing and thinking about creative pictures since I have never focused on doing so before. I started to draw Eggman’s head using the only writing utensil I had that was not just a pen or pencil, a dry erase marker. This drawing took me a large amount of time compared to other people I know, who would draw it better than myself in half the time; however, I was proud of my work. During the sketch, I was not even conceiving the idea of what physical object to combine with my drawing. I wanted to draw my sketch. After I drew, the concept of time came across my mind because I realized I had stayed up too far into the night already. I have two nearly identical watch faces, and with the drawing and my watches, I came up with the title “Time is Up Eggman,” to reference the end of the night for myself and Eggman’s continuous failure to outperform Sonic. Basically, I spent a lot of time into making the eyes of Eggman into watches to represent time and time running out.
The only difference in my approach to this essay compared to the literary narrative I had to write is my excitement. I play games so I was very interested in writing this. My player narrative is basically a comparison of the past and the present and how certain things have changed. From writing my player narrative I’ve learned to analyze myself while I play certain games and keep a tab of it.
“Every man carries with him the world in which he must live.” -Writer Francis Crawford
This quote by Crawford is most likely meant to be a metaphorical statement on how everyone has their own perspective and world view that they bring along, but I believe this quote also works as a literal examination of why we carry around the things we do.
Laying out my bag, I see a pretty basic layout for a student in the era of virtual education, multiple chargers, books and notebooks, earbuds, a Laptop, jacket, and my phone.
These key items are not very interesting or unique, but it is the ‘mini-motifs’ that you can see in my bag that really can shed some light on what I value in the world in which I live.
The first theme that is prevalent in my bag is that of music. I carry around multiple audio devices just so I can always have a music during the day. Whether it be earbuds while exercising or just walking around, noise cancelling headphones for working, or a speaker to share the music – I love having my day filled with music as it really makes the tedium of the day so much better.
Next, I have a couple survivalist / first aid tools that are at the ready for a scenario in which I might have the opportunity to help myself or others during an emergency. As an EMT, I know just how valuable something so basic as a tourniquet or shears can be in a life-saving environment. Bad things happen all the time, and having something that can get you or others out of a pinch can be very valuable for no cost of space or convenience.
Finally, I have a tech undertone throughout my items. Although it may not carry the “gamery aesthetic” of hard contrasts, RGB lighting, and big logos around it, my laptop is a very powerful productivity and gaming machine. So, in the very off chance that I do have free time to boot up Doom or Cuphead, I am always ready with a mouse and a detachable webcam + mic. My phone doubles as a notebook I can write in with a stylus, and my kindle is a personal library condensed into my palm.
Overall, I think this really does say a fair bit about me. I am someone who fills his life with music and games in order to stay sane in crazy times, and am also someone who is ready to help others in a time of need. This little exercise of just examining items in my bag really does expose a slice of the cake that is my passions and personality – while, interestingly, it seemed that it was not the large things that said much, rather the little quirks that I carry that set me apart from every other person’s baggage.
Side Quest 4
Here is a picture of what I carry with my bag on a usual day.
Since I am studying remotely in a completely different time zone, the set up of this bag is completely abstract and made-up. Attending university on zoom.us does not require me to carry a bag. My daily routine would be to go out with an iPhone and my keys which both fit in my pockets and come home at night to a desk full of notes and worksheet assignments. I intentionally placed those items in the picture because I would agree that they represent and hold some value to my interests and the way I live. It might have revealed that I am a music lover and is not organized enough to carry notebooks, folders or a pencil case. Representing myself in a catalog of the stuff in my bag is definitely a type of writing. However, I do not think that it could fully represent a person as a self-portrait since we all carry various things for different occasions. I intentionally removed some objects (tissues, money, a calculator, etc.) from my bag because I believed that they held little representation values to who I am.
Below are the items in the photo listed in order from left to right top to bottom with some comments.
Notebooks, Binders, Folders
These are notebooks, binders, and “folders” I use to take notes or complete schoolwork. Aside from notebooks for classes, I usually keep a personal notebook to write down reminders, ideas, or even doodle. The large white “folders” stacked on the bottom are actually mail packages. I write folders with quotation marks because I use them to sort loose leaf papers. I care little about the form objects are in as long as they get the job done.
Earphones
There are two Apple earbuds in the photo. I have two in my bag because I need one for my phone and another for my computer. The newer iPhones use the charging port for earbuds instead of the little round ones, and I prefer wired headphones over wireless, so I need to bring 2 around with me (I lost the converter).
Ethernet cable converter
Converts the ethernet cable plug to a USB plug so I can use it for my MacBook. The internet in my house in China basically isn’t usable when it’s wireless. I need the internet to be as fast and stable as it could get for me to connect to oversees webpages (most homework we have) or to use VPN.
Wallet
The usual. I have money, driver’s license, different cards, and bandages inside.
Laptop
2015 251GB MacBook pro. This computer has served me well ever since I was in seventh grade. It has gone through replacement of battery once so far and the current battery seems to be dying as well. It wasn’t included in the picture because I didn’t have it in my bag at the time, but I always bring my phone and computer charger with me.
Pencil and Pen
Pen and mechanical pencil. I only bring two of each usually. I have been using the same brand for all my years in high school.
Backpack
School bag. I would bring this around with me all the time if I were at school, but I only bring my phone and wallet when going out normally.
Digital Pen & Tablet
The Digital pen and Tablet are pretty useful for photo editing and playing games. I found this extra helpful now with online classes since I can use it to take notes or handwrite on documents.
I feel like this photograph gives a nice but vague representation about who I am as a person. Through the items I have in my bag, people can infer some habits or thoughts I might usually have. For example, there are a lot of electronic devices and its “add ons” in my bag compared to paperback books and notes. People would probably know that I complete most of my work using my computer and/or my phone (it’s used to take the photo). Another thing people may learn about me thorough this “portrait” is that I don’t like to play any sound from my devices out load for whatever reason from the two different earphones I bring. I say this is only a vague representation because people would not know why I don’t like to play sounds out loud or what specifically I use my devices for if I didn’t give an explanation.
I think representing myself in a catalog of what’s in my bag is definitely a type of writing. In general, I feel like all forms of putting words together to express ideas are writing. While there are many ways people may decide to go complete this assignment, in the end it’s still putting words down to convey ideas and information.
BackPack List: -Oakley Sink BackPack. -Ti-84 Calculator. -Asus ROG Strix Laptop -IPad Pro. -Big Notebook. -Small Notebook. -Scratch Paper. -Whiteboard Marker. -Pen. -Adidas Slides -Wallet. -Keys. -Laptop Charger
The idea of being thrown into a new environment without any idea of what you need to can always be troublesome. Through my journey into videogames, I started by playing games without help from the game itself until I get trapped by a ten year old girl. Within trying to pass through my rival’s obstacle in Pokémon Sapphire, I started to learn about balance, problem-solving, determination, applying information, and strategy. In my player narrative, I discuss how I went about beating May on route 110.
Check it out: https://dangerdolan801811591.wordpress.com/stepping-into-the-path-of-gaming/
