https://commons.gc.cuny.edu/members/sorayafuentes28/activity/ Activity feed for Soraya Fuentes. Sat, 01 Jan 2050 18:00:18 -0500 https://buddypress.org/?v= en 30 hourly 2 8f566b13e7426bf512c169917d5a1f34 https://commons.gc.cuny.edu/activity/p/1169503/ Mon, 11 May 2026 19:12:27 -0400 838de7c2207c6f9233f15646a4058fe1 https://laj3faenglish1010.commons.gc.cuny.edu/?p=175 Mon, 11 May 2026 18:55:00 -0400 ࿔ ࿔ ࿔ Doodles & Drawings ࿔ ࿔ ࿔ The Creations That Further Fuel My Other Creations  

]]> a0d6f59619e4c2baa249cec441d0877b https://laj3faenglish1010.commons.gc.cuny.edu/?p=125 Mon, 11 May 2026 17:13:56 -0400 Self-Assessment Essay Poetically Passionate      Language is a tool used by the entirety of the world, it is what universally ties humans together, through expression, language is one of the deepest, most beautiful ways one could make connections. It is how I make connections with the outer world, to myself, and to mundane parts of life I tend to look over. Literary devices such as metaphor and imagery help to support my own way of expression. On top of that the flow, the pace, the poetic rhythms when words are spoken aloud are crucial to making language unique. Throughout this semester, I came to understand language not only as communication, but as identity, memory, culture, and emotion. The more I wrote, revised, researched, and reflected, and leaned into my poetic tone, my passions, my opinionated perspective, and my will to preserve traditional ways of expression, the more I felt my writing enhanced.      I often find myself writing with poetic devices like rhyming and intentionally pausing when speaking my words, in a way it is like music. I think this comes from my love for rhythm, music, and my upbringing. During our free writes especially, I leaned further into this side of my writing. In one free write I stated, “I felt alive in my alone, I felt solace in my solitude.” In another I wrote:        Even in something short, I focused on pacing and rhythm to mirror emotion. Similarly, this focus appears in another free write where I said: Lines like these reveal the way I naturally approach writing through imagery and emotion. Writing like this helped me to further understand how words hold sound, memory, and feeling all at once. This understanding of language also comes from the people around me.  In my narrative presentation poem, I wrote, “my grandparents and parents spoke life into me, all of their generations of words, passed down stories.” Looking back at that line now, I realize how much my understanding of writing is tied to oral storytelling, expression and cultural memory. Words always surrounded me, so naturally I became attached to them too.      As a student, I think these assignments and tasks we did in class helped me to develop my writing skills more, specifically in my own style of writing. When I had freedom in choosing topics or how I expressed myself, I flourished more creatively. However, the more structural assignments I struggled a little more with, but it also helped me grow. At the beginning of the semester, with my narrative essay, I naturally leaned more toward emotional and poetic expression than analytical structure, and let myself shine through my words. On the other hand, in my comparison essay surrounding James Baldwin and Roxane Gay, I had to remove myself from the essay and focus more on building a clear argument supported with evidence.       Revision also became a major part of my growth this semester. Sometimes I realized my strongest ideas needed more development, while other times I noticed I worked better under pressure, just intuitively writing. Yet, there would still be small errors in my writing. Since my writing style is naturally emotional and flowy, revision became important in helping me balance creativity with structure.        Through writing the research paper, I also became more confident using MLA citation and integrating evidence naturally into my work. Earlier in the semester, I struggled balancing source material and my own voice. But over time I learned that sources should support my ideas rather than overpower them. I became better at introducing quotations, summarizing arguments, and connecting evidence back to my thesis while still maintaining my own writing style. In this research essay, I think I most strongly bridged the gap between technical skill and poetic writing. In the introduction paragraph I wrote, “Yet in many communities, knowledge does not exist as an object to be owned but instead as a process to be lived. It moves through generations of voices, through repeated actions, and through relationships with the land that extend beyond a single lifetime.” This quote represents my growth the best because I was able to combine research and argumentation with the style of writing that feels natural to me. The topic itself also connected deeply to the way I understand language and storytelling.        Through researching these topics, I began understanding how to locate scholarly articles through databases, how to evaluate whether sources connected to my argument, and how to carefully incorporate those ideas into my writing. Since my topic was specific, I was able to find many useful sources quickly by searching terms like “natural environments” and “ancestral wisdom.” At the same time, researching taught me patience. Finding sources that supported my argument came naturally, but finding sources that challenged my argument was much harder. Even though it was difficult, I think it strengthened my essay because it forced me to think more critically and respond thoughtfully rather than only surrounding myself with ideas I agreed with.                                                                   Furthermore, I became more aware of how connected writing is to identity and belonging. In one free write I stated, “To belong: is to be understood through expression.” I realize that this line reflects much of my experience in this course. Whether through poetry, research, narrative writing, or analytical essays, I consistently returned to themes of voice, memory, culture, and self expression. Before this class, I sometimes worried that my writing style was too “weirdly” poetic for some academic spaces. But throughout this semester, I learned how to shape that style depending on the assignment while still remaining true to myself as a writer.       Overall, I believe this semester helped me grow both creatively and academically. This course helped me realize that the strongest parts of my writing come from allowing knowledge, creativity, emotion, and identity to exist together on the page. I was able to strengthen my understanding of research, citation, revision, grammar, and argumentation, but more importantly, I learned how to connect those technical skills with my own voice. “Words have always been my foundation. I lean on them when I need to express myself and when I cannot seem to find my words, I create art to say things I cannot quite say.”                                        Works Cited Fuentes, Soraya. “Free Write: 2/3” English Composition, February 2026, Brooklyn College. Unpublished paper. Fuentes, Soraya. “Free Write: 2/5” English Composition, February 2026, Brooklyn College. Unpublished paper. Fuentes, Soraya. “Free Write: 3/26” English Composition, March 2026, Brooklyn College. Unpublished paper. Fuentes, Soraya. “Free Write: 3/17” English Composition, March 2026, Brooklyn College. Unpublished paper. Fuentes, Soraya. “Free Write: 4/30” English Composition, April 2026, Brooklyn College. Unpublished paper. Fuentes, Soraya. “Narrative Presentation Poem” English Composition, February 2026, Brooklyn College. Unpublished paper. Fuentes, Soraya. “Rooted in Knowledge” English Composition, April 2026, Brooklyn College. Unpublished paper. […] “Self-Assessment Essay”

]]> 5a3fd6fb8a58032e9b1447b2dfe77e46 https://laj3faenglish1010.commons.gc.cuny.edu/?p=113 Mon, 11 May 2026 16:53:09 -0400 Free Write: 3/26

]]> 20a0daef1d3dfb231302bbc6c2b65468 https://laj3faenglish1010.commons.gc.cuny.edu/?p=105 Mon, 11 May 2026 16:52:18 -0400 Free Write: 4/30

]]> 3fc259dc3f31cb1f81c984697465f732 https://laj3faenglish1010.commons.gc.cuny.edu/?p=99 Mon, 11 May 2026 16:51:23 -0400 Free Write: 3/17

]]> aeeeb1c1e71c00bded668be22055930e https://laj3faenglish1010.commons.gc.cuny.edu/?p=93 Mon, 11 May 2026 16:50:13 -0400 Free Write: 2/5  

]]> 04822383bace52e0723afdc70ac2e7a0 https://laj3faenglish1010.commons.gc.cuny.edu/?p=87 Mon, 11 May 2026 16:49:01 -0400 Free Write: 2/3  

]]> 3c2b82cd9949b3ba992ef128325a8596 https://laj3faenglish1010.commons.gc.cuny.edu/?p=81 Mon, 11 May 2026 16:38:21 -0400 Research Presentation                               Rooted in Knowledge        Knowledge, although many argue for, does not always live in textbooks. In many communities, it lives in the stories told aloud, in the rituals practiced over and over generation after generation, and in the relationships with the land itself. This presentation explores how ancestral wisdom is preserved through these forms, especially amongst Indigenous groups and through communities whose identities are deeply tied to nature. Through oral tradition, art, and ritual, Indigenous groups and communities rooted in land-based living are more likely to sustain and pass down ancestral wisdom in connection to natural environments and spiritual practices.        Meredith Jean Bird Miller, in her dissertation, examines how children develop understanding through interactions with natural environments. She highlights how learning through nature fosters both spiritual awareness and cultural continuity. Her work not only reinforces the idea that ancestral knowledge is not abstract but also shows it is rooted in lived relationships with the natural environment. Similarly in an academic journal from Chioma Patricia Onuorah and Justina Nwazuni Osajie, they argue that Igbo traditional spirituality connects humans, nature, and well-being in a unified system of knowledge. However, colonization and the spread of Christianity led many to be stripped of these generational practices, weakening those connections. Their work also speaks of renewal, showing how reconnecting with traditional rituals can reignite the cultural identity and knowledge systems lost in the harsh and long process of colonization. Miller’s focus on environmental interaction and childhood learning compliments Onuorah and Osajie’s emphasis on spirituality and ritual practice. Both demonstrate that storytelling, the influence of land and waterscapes, and belief systems function as interconnected pathways for knowledge. When these pathways are disrupted, cultural memory is at risk. Though on the other hand when they are maintained or reclaimed, that knowledge continues to thrive across generations.      This topic is significant because it challenges the dominant, Western ideas about where knowledge comes from and whose knowledge is valued. It speaks to those looking to reconnect with generational practices and anyone interested in culture, identity, and the environment. Some of the challenges faced have been representing these traditions with accuracy as it’s hard to encompass what it was before the impact of colonialism and finding strong opposing sources as my research is very specific. Though, one of the most compelling discoveries has been finding and appreciating the deep connection between land, spirituality, and identity. The goal for my work is to leave the audience with a clearer understanding that preserving these traditions is not only about honoring the past and understanding it, but also it is about sustaining knowledge systems that continue to shape how people understand the world today.                                       Works Cited Bird Miller, Meredith J. Children Tell Landscape-Lore among Perceptions of Place: Relating Ecocultural Digital Stories in a Conscientizing/Decolonizing Exploration. Antioch University / OhioLINK, 25 Aug. 2023. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=d630caff-69a0-31c6-857e-100656fbd25e  Onuorah, Chioma Patricia, and Justina Nwazuni Osajie. “Reawakening the Ancestral Flame: A Journey into Igbo Traditional African Spirituality.” IKENGA: International Journal of Institute of African Studies, vol. 26, no. 2, June 2025, pp. 368–89. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.brooklyn.ezproxy.cuny.edu/10.53836/ijia/2025/26/ […] “Research Presentation”

]]> a868d4e931dd4e3dbddd9442637fafbe https://laj3faenglish1010.commons.gc.cuny.edu/?p=73 Mon, 11 May 2026 16:32:52 -0400 Narrative Presentation PoemGrowing up, I got to experience many different worlds, suburbs, cities, the beauty, and the ugly I spent much of my time observing words in all my changes,  and I consistently found myself drawn to things written on paper, I studied the words I heard, I spoke them aloud, figured out the spelling in my head  my love for words landed me in the spelling bee though I don’t get to be the queen bee, and my shyness stopped me from good ol’ victory words were in everything I loved and knew,  at home my parents always pushed me to be curious about the world, and their main way of teaching their children this, was through pages and pages of words, a.k.a books, they read, forced my sisters and I to read,  and for that, im glad that they could forsee, the importance and the need for I am so lucky  cus I love to do it currently and close to home, at my grandmothers houses, although both weren’t much of book worms they always had a way with words, they could make a joke so funny, or say the smoothest, sweetest things with their words of honey, if there was one thing they taught me, it is to be confident when I’m talking my grand parents and parents spoke life into me, all of their generations of words, passed down stories,  all the gossip they heard, have done wonders for me words have always been my foundation, I lean on them when I need to express myself and when I can’t seem to find my words, I create art to say things I can’t quite say, maybe my own language in my way now I am not afraid to use my words, I spell, I sing, I visualize, and I vocalize in all my words and I always hold onto the words that remind me of who I am when things are going wrong, or I’m stuck in a jam La Jefa, the boss my nickname, they all gave me,  signed at bottom corner of a painting sticks with me in all my creations, from artistry to written papers, it always seems to remind me just how much words have made me, […] “Narrative Presentation Poem”

]]> 9291f83fc6c5b1515a5ccc2bfd0a7f0a https://laj3faenglish1010.commons.gc.cuny.edu/?p=29 Mon, 11 May 2026 15:54:03 -0400 Narrative Essay   […] “Narrative Essay”

]]> 00ee9c234ea6500e506866d1ee99eb2c https://laj3faenglish1010.commons.gc.cuny.edu/?p=25 Mon, 11 May 2026 15:44:15 -0400 Comparison EssayCo […] “Comparison Essay”

]]> f33150cd5097655a8520b7c4eb5fad6f https://laj3faenglish1010.commons.gc.cuny.edu/?p=19 Mon, 11 May 2026 15:42:12 -0400 Research Essay  […] “Research Essay”

]]> e3de6a1c5b357e7b6172912ff9bbb6c0 https://laj3faengl010.commons.gc.cuny.edu/?p=1 Wed, 06 May 2026 13:56:27 -0400 Research EssayRight Link:

]]> bc791c78b253514b6d26cfee4dda3286 https://commons.gc.cuny.edu/activity/p/1147683/ Tue, 24 Feb 2026 16:43:12 -0500 294dc90bd376f8a2e10710c0c0f54c05 https://commons.gc.cuny.edu/activity/p/1147675/ Tue, 24 Feb 2026 16:41:58 -0500 ee6371aa34f2019a69088f2d18afc686 https://commons.gc.cuny.edu/activity/p/1147645/ Tue, 24 Feb 2026 16:34:21 -0500