Academics

Hey, everyone!

We’re back! Summer was amazing — I traveled across the country, saw three new colleges, and spent some quality time on the beach. By the time we came back, I was talking like I had grown up in the South, with my “y’alls” and little twang.

One of the best things about visiting the colleges was telling them about my Odyssey Project. Everyone I talked to was so excited to hear about my unique spin on literature, and informed me that the universities would love to help me implement a similar system of workshops in their cities! I was so happy to know that there is an opportunity for me to continue my workshops, even when I move to college.

Down to business; there are so many plans in the works this year! The first is to finish the book. I think I’m going to call it a collection of poems, rather than focusing on writing about one specific topic. I think that this will help me find the inspiration a little faster. Most authors write an entire poetry book on heartbreak or trauma, but my poems seem to be all over the place when it comes to what I write, so I think that a collection will broaden the general topic. The second thing is continuing my workshops. I am planning with Horizons Albuquerque to volunteer at their September event. Additionally, I am reaching out to 21st Century Academy and the UNM ECHO Project for interviews and more workshop opportunities. I am excited to learn more about what I can do to help, and also more about what their programs mean for literature studies.

I’m going to leave you with another exciting opportunity — I am entering some of my poems into a writing competition, and will hopefully win a scholarship for college!

August flew by so quickly, but that’s the best thing about time — it flies when you’re having fun!

Hey, everyone!

Wow, September flew by so quickly! I swear, only yesterday I was writing my first blog, but I’ve heard that senior year, especially, passes by faster than you expect. This month was full of a lot of “lasts” — last Lion & Unicorn Day, Homecoming, and Color Day. While that was sad, I am looking forward to what comes next, as well as where my project will take me.

In the last blog, I mentioned beginning my volunteering work, and I have some news! This past weekend, I spent time volunteering with Horizons Albuquerque at their Super Saturday event. The event was held at the CNM Main Campus. There were a lot of families there, and I had a great time getting to know the high school students. The elementary school children drew pictures and sang songs for Hispanic Heritage Month, while the middle and high school students toured the campus. One of the goals was showing the older students, and their parents, what a college education can look like. We focused more on the opportunities that are available and how a good education does not need to cost thousands of dollars. The students were excited, and it was good to see how they were impacted by only a few hours of exposure to different career opportunities and paths.

I am still working on connecting with 21st Century Academy and UNM ECHO. Throughout October, I am also going to be starting the publication process for my book. While that sounds a little scary, it is good for me to set my goal of finishing my translations by a certain date instead of any time.

I am still looking for writing competitions and scholarships to showcase my poetry and book.

Another exciting thing is in the works with Horizons. In November, they focus on mental health awareness, and the plan is for me to teach some poetry during that time!

Hopefully, all goes well as we enter into the next chapter of this year, and we will begin to see results!

Hey, everyone!

This month was so busy! I swear it just started, and next week is Halloween. It’s been hectic, volunteering for National Honors Society and planning for my next Odyssey workshop, but nevertheless, it is rewarding to be active in my community. One thing I learned from the Make-A-Wish “Trunk or Treat” event, is that life is too short not to dance and sing out loud and have fun! I can’t worry what other people think about my life or my Odyssey Project, but rather, I need to focus on what I want out of both!

In the last blog, I mentioned my first event with Horizons Albuquerque at their CNM event. The story doesn’t stop there — I’m teaching my first “real” classes to their elementary students the first weekend of November! I have spent the last few weeks designing a curriculum to teach my students, making sure that the content is engaging and age-appropriate. I mean, it’s been a little bit of a struggle to figure out what to teach, how to teach it, and how to interact with the students in the classroom. I’m excited to gain some new experience and have the responsibility of teaching on my own!

While my connections with 21st Century Academy and UNM ECHO didn’t pan out the way I wanted, I have found several new people to connect with, interview, and work with. I’m planning to contact an organization that teaches English to immigrant women in Albuquerque and am super excited to meet the ladies, and not just teach them my language, but also learn theirs!

I’m keeping a positive attitude that this will all work out the way it’s supposed to! Have a wonderful month, everyone, and I’ll write again soon!

Hey, everyone!

This month was so busy, though I say that every month! I jumped into basketball season, and my Thanksgiving break was full of practices. I also spent a lot of time in my English class annotating poetry and writing some new material.

In the last blog, I mentioned I was going to be teaching for Horizons, and I did! It was a great experience. I made a handout that had a poem and a drawing on it, and the kids did so well with completing it! I had about 20 kids from the ages of three to eleven, and while it was challenging to cover that age gap and I made some mistakes, I ended up super happy with the whole program. On top of that, I taught a few senior English classes at Prep. For the last few weeks, we have been studying poetry and learning to annotate what the author is trying to say. We got a handout with two poems on it, but the by-line was missing. Both of the poems were mine! I got to surprise the classes a week later and talk through what I wrote, why I wrote it, and what inspired me, and basically act as a panel to answer questions. It was really beneficial for me to see what other people found interesting, what themes they picked up on, and the differences between what the poems meant to each person.

I am working on getting some interviews and hearing back from a few contacts. It is stressful when I do not hear back right away or at all because it puts me in a tricky situation. I am hopeful that these will work themselves out, and also that I will gain experience in switching paths and making new connections!

This next month is sure to be a busy one, but I wish you all a wonderful month, and I’ll write again soon!

Hey, everyone!

This month, but especially this year, went by in the blink of an eye. It was filled with so many memories and big milestones, both in my Project, and in my personal life. I committed to the University of Alabama, and have some exciting plans in the works with them to continue my Project there. Because of all the changes, I have had a lot of inspiration to write and my book is coming along smoothly. 

I have had this feeling the whole semester, that I was wasting time, not accomplishing my goals, and ultimately not making a lot of progress. I think the only way to know what I have done is to recap. Starting in August, I spent time really finding my passion for this Project. I was burnt out at the end of last year, and honestly thought about dropping the Program if I could not find my passion again. Working with Ms. Jaramillo gave me a breath of fresh air, and an opportunity to rebuild and restructure my original idea. September brought me a few new trials — deciding between self-publishing and using a publishing company, and working hands on with Horizons Albuquerque. If you read my previous blogs, you can find out more specifically about the Horizons Super Saturday September Event, but I will provide a short summary. The families came to the CNM Main Campus, where they were split by age into either an arts-and-crafts activity (for the younger kids) or a campus tour (for middle and high school students). The goal was to show the older students the opportunities that they have after graduation. I loved getting to know the older students and their families, and getting an inside perspective on Horizons. October was not as busy as I thought it would be. I have a lot of things going on outside of school — finding out about college acceptances and spending time at my last Balloon Fiesta. We had an Odyssey reception for the Junior Scholars so I got some practice giving professional introductions and public speaking. I spent a lot of time translating my poems too, which was nice to dedicate some time to those, as well as learning about “translanguaging,” which is more along the lines of my work. November was an exciting Odyssey month! I got to teach my first classes to elementary students, which in itself was a daunting task, but I am so grateful for the opportunity! It was a challenge to create a good worksheet, and then modifying it while teaching because each kid wanted to do something different. I also detailed this a lot more in my November blog, so feel free to read that for extra information and insight. And that brings me to this month. I mostly spent time finishing requirements for the Program. That meant writing a college-level annotated bibliography, and creating a literature review, as well as giving a semester recap presentation to the Odyssey Cohort.

I learned a lot of things about not only my Project and field of interest, but also about myself this semester. I learned to better listen to my mind and prioritize writing when inspired but not making my poems a mandatory deadline because then I produce bland work. I also learned how to better communicate with other professionals so that I can work in an adult setting. Like I mentioned previously, my experiences teaching have shown me so much about myself, and have given me the confidence to make on-the-go changes and control a classroom full of people I have never met.

I can’t lie — I don’t feel like I have had a lot of challenges this year, and that might be because I’m in the middle of finals week, so Odyssey feels like a breeze compared to my other classes. If I have to guess, I would say it has been the usual problems: time management, procrastination, communication, motivation. I did struggle to find anyone to interview this semester, however I currently have plans in the works for a few interviews next semester. My proudest moment was hearing the feedback from my Horizons workshops a few weeks after I taught, from people who heard about it from others. It was cool to see how my accomplishments were being recognized in the community. That was my biggest worry coming into this year. I did not know if my Project would actually bring any change or have a positive impact on the people I would be working with. I think all in all my biggest obstacles were actually my own expectations and the pressure I put on myself. I had to learn to roll with the punches and not panic when my plan ultimately fell apart. I had to take a breath, refocus my mind, and shift my progress to meet my circumstances.

I didn’t do a lot of good research this year. I find it difficult to read scientific articles because my Project is centered around my own creativity and hands-on work. Honestly, I didn’t need much research for my Project from the annotated bibliography, because it is hard to read about someone else’s interpretations of bilingual poetry workshops especially when the sources are from the late 1990s and early 2000s. I gained insight into the publishing process, but I was hoping to read more articles of similar initiatives to mine. I think for next semester I will try to get a response from outside mentors, and find people who actually have the time to talk to me. In whole though, I think I learned way more from the actual volunteering than I have ever in this Program.

The most exciting thing was definitely teaching the workshops, but I have enjoyed this year more than I thought I would. I am so grateful for Ms. Jaramillo and her leadership, which has put me back on track with this Project.

As always, I hope you all have a wonderful and happy holiday season and a great start to the new year! Talk to you all soon!

Hey, everyone!

This month hasn’t been as busy as the others with school events, but it’s still been a packed time. Starting the new year felt so good! I needed a reset and a chance to take a breath, find a new routine, and change the things in my life that felt stagnant. Unfortunately I spent a couple weeks sick, so I definitely feel like I haven’t been super productive, although I think taking time to rest and feel better was a really good decision.

I did have a few exciting breakthroughs this month! I volunteered with Horizons for an event at Bosque School. We hiked to the Rio Grande and did science experiments on the water to see its different qualities. I also started to design my book cover. I have been drawing out different pictures and figuring out formatting, background, and printing information. I also found out the name of a potential publisher as well as a printing company should I choose to take the more professional route. The downside to that is the fact that the process is so expensive! It’s been an interesting path to research and talk to people about simply because it is so different for each author that goes through it.

I am still working on getting some interviews and hearing back from a few contacts. I have one planned for the next couple of weeks and I am super excited to connect! I am loving every minute of it, and trying hard to appreciate all of it because the year, and my time in the Program, are almost finished.

This next month might be the busiest one yet, but I will talk to you all soon!

Hey, everyone!

This month has been crazy with basketball, projects, and writing events. I am so glad to be back and feeling good. It was a hard couple of weeks from just being sick on and off so much. I have had some challenges in my personal life, but I am working on taking time to make decisions and looking for the positive side.

A couple of big changes happened this month! I did my first interview with a contact at Prep. He offered me a lot of info, from being a published poet himself, and helped me to find my next steps on the publishing route. I also came up with a brand new idea — writing a brand new book.

Basically, I am still writing Casa del Soul, but I am also writing a poetry book about the process of being a writer. I was struggling with wanting to share my bilingual poetry because so much of it is so personal, but writing this second book has renewed my passion for sharing and presenting my poetry! I am calling this book Thoughts of an author because it is just that — a book of my thoughts while writing a book I don’t really want to share. I am excited to say that both book covers are done, and that Thoughts of an author is fully completed. I will be spending the next month creating a physical copy of the book and figuring out logistics.

I am happy with the direction and speed that my Project is moving with, and of course, excited to finish this second book with a renewed passion for poetry!

This next month is sure to bring ups and downs, but I am excited to experience them all the same!

Hey, everyone! 

Over the last month, I honestly feel like I have struggled to balance the pieces of my project. I have come to the conclusion that I need to do research about self-publishing and produce a proposal paper to explain my project to the people I will be working with. However, I am finding that it’s more difficult than I first imagined to do research about the writing community and gather statistics that I need in order to create my outreach program. I’m not going to lie: Just like some of you, I am not the least bit sad about not sitting and reading statistics for hours at a time! I would much rather sit outside at a park and write poetry in my book. I have begun reading a book called Home, written by a college student in Montana. It’s been interesting to see how her work compares and contrasts to mine, as well as listening to her struggles to show emotion in her poetry without leaving the reader sad. I plan to interview her and ask her a lot of questions.

I have also talked to several people who share my interests and my passions, and am starting to build a network of connections. One of my biggest fears going into this program was that nobody would be interested in spending time talking to me and helping me find my credibility as a writer. 

That’s really all I have this time. I am hoping to have more to share next time, and additional information when I finally finish Home. I am excited to bring you along in my journey. After all, an Odyssey isn’t meant to be traveled alone! Thank you all so much for taking the time to read my jumbled thoughts, and I can’t wait to write for you guys next month.

Hey, everyone!

This month all of the junior Odyssey Scholars decided to give back to our community.  This came in the form of volunteering at a place called Cuidando los Niños, a daycare center for homeless children. The center gives the children a place to stay and learn during the day, and provides food and donations of clothing, toiletries, and blankets. The goal is to support the families who are struggling to pay for housing.

At first, I was hesitant, but after meeting the kids, I fell in love. I got the chance to be in the pre-kindergarten class, where we read stories, sang songs, and built towers with cardboard blocks. A few of the girls grabbed me by the hand and dressed me up with a tiara. They cooked me plastic steaks, and we dressed the baby dolls. And the little boys knocked over the towers and raced cars around with me. I honestly didn’t know how amazing these children were!

At this point, Ms. Goessl is probably rolling her eyes at my tangent, but I promise this actually has to do with my project. The first thing I noticed when I walked into the toddler building was that many of the kids were speaking in Spanish. I asked if all of the kids could speak English, and it was interesting to learn that most of them only learn English at school, because their families are native Spanish speakers. I especially got to see this when I read a story to the kids during circle time. The book had pictures of different colors, and when I said them aloud, some of the kids didn’t understand. The teacher proceeded to tell them the color in Spanish, and I could see the flash of recognition on their faces.

Sitting there, during circle time, I finally saw the pieces of my project click into place.  The look of recognition, that is exactly what I am trying to accomplish. Ideally, I want to work with third or fourth grade students, but seeing evidence in the classroom was a huge motivator.  I’m not going to lie, sometimes it is hard to feel that my project can do any good in the community because I feel so behind. I was reading poetry the other day, big surprise, and I saw a really powerful line. It said even a single drop of water causes a ripple. I wanted to make my project world-changing in the beginning, but I’m starting to see that if I can change ten lives, or three lives, or even one life, I have made a difference. Even if it takes me years, all I want is to show one person the beauty of language.

And seeing that this whole project started because of Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken,” I will continue to take the one less traveled by, and I hope to make a difference.

Hey, everyone!

This month has been crazy to say the least. I am finding myself swamped with work and the intensity of basketball season. But my shining light is my Odyssey project! I love to sit down, put my headphones in, and write the day away.

My task this month has been reading from In the Palm of Your Hand, a poetry workshop book. I have been working on annotating and feeling the rhythms of each style of poetry.

One of my chapters is about a memory, with the goal to provide the reader with enough information to create an emotion-filled scene without using expressive details. In the beginning, I was honestly not thrilled to read this chapter and write. I did not like the flow of the poems or the bluntness of the requirements. The first instructions at the end of the chapter were a series of questions asking for a written list of twelve different experiences. After finalizing my thoughts of those memories, I chose to write about a basketball game, and specifically the first time I played basketball without my best friend. As much as this was difficult to write, I found the words laying themselves down on the page for me.

Another one of my favorite chapters is about a prose poem. I am going to start by saying that I did not, in fact, write a prose poem. As with every chapter, there was another list of ten questions to answer to dredge up painful memories. The tone of this poem was to be sad, empty, and full of betrayal. The key to the poem was that it had to be written with my non-dominant hand, no easy task. The theory behind using my left hand is that it activates another part of the brain that I do not commonly use. So knowing that I did not write a prose poem, let me tell you that I did write a verse poem. My goal was to minimize the number of words in each line in order to create a concise picture. I wrote about a movie, which sounds crazy out loud, but it helped me to release some frustration in my life.

Odyssey is a journey, that is for sure. I never in a million years expected to be faced with this opportunity. Throughout the year I have talked about how poetry can channel emotions and the benefits of writing poetry. But now I see it. I feel it. The surprising part is I think that this is exactly what the Odyssey Program is for–creating an idea to impact the world, but each Scholar is the one most impacted.

Hey, everyone!

This month has been a mix of emotions, mainly frustrating and exciting.  Those are two very opposite feelings, I know, but I think that speaks to the complexity of the Odyssey Scholars Program, as well as being a dramatic teenage girl.

I think this month has been eye-opening, though, from the perspective of planning the workshops. Most people never see the “behind-the-scenes” work that goes into a successful workshop. I feel like my mom is tired of hearing all of my “in progress poems” by this point.  The planning has been in the works for quite some time, but I am excited to say that I have solid dates. I will be teaching poetry workshops to the ninth grade in May. Their final for the semester is writing and performing original poetry, so with the help of Mr. Tregembo, I will be introducing ways to write, perform, and connect with the audience. My first thought was to center the workshop around Cinco de Mayo, but after some consideration, I think that I will learn a little more about the books they will be reading in class, write some poems from those, and then help to provide a more accurate visual of what their end-product can look like.

My frustrations have been smaller in significance, but more common than I would have liked this month. I feel a little behind in the physical work because I missed a few classes for family things. I did finish a cool poetry project, though, which is called “cross-out poetry.”  Basically what that means is I picked a piece of literature, mine was Act II, Scene II from Romeo and Juliet, and I cross out some words in every line, leaving behind a poem. It has been a challenge in itself, especially trying to follow Shakespeare’s words and Old English.  

Most of the words I used for the poem are ones I have never even said in my life, so constructing them into a poem was more difficult than I first anticipated. Also, using words and phrases that are not my original thoughts is hard because I am really connected to my poetic identity, something that is not as prevalent in this poem. I originally sectioned the piece into tiny poems, but surprisingly all the baby poems flowed into one big one. I am titling it ‘scars’ because I tried to pick words that would show insecurities, both physical and mental.  

I was reading an article the other day about the increase in depression and suicide in teenage girls, and I think a lot of that is caused by the idea that girls cannot be vulnerable. We are not able to have imperfections and faults, and that really inspired me to create a poem that showed the complexities of pressure. I want my readers to know that I, too, struggle with feeling the pressure to be beautiful and skinny and smart and funny, but also for them to know that it’s okay. Sometimes it can be a “sweatpants day” or messy buns and no makeup. The way you look does not determine who you are, and eventually your worth is defined by your actions – your kindness, your attitude, your friends.  

So I think in conclusion, my frustrations with this month were not actually negative things. I was mostly struggling with finding myself and my vulnerabilities.

I always end these with a “big picture” thought about my project, but today I think I will end it with a line from my poem:  I would not hide let them find me / My life better ended by love / I am no pilot yet / I adventure.