The task at hand in Freshman Composition for the past week has been to write an essay. Students were told to pick one out of five essay questions to address. My essay question was "Identify common depiction patterns of Blacks, Latinos and/or Native Americans. Do you see parallels between Black, Latino, and Native American stereotypes perpetuated in U.S. culture?" Normally, I would look at this assignment as just another essay for school. I've never actually took the time to focus on planning out my essays before I wrote them. My goal was to just write the essay and get it done. Through the lessons that Dr. Diaz has taught during class, and the homework assignments that she has given I am slowly but surely learning the value of planning. She has given numerous assignments in which we learn new ways of planning and structuring our essays such as the Toulmin strategy. I appreciate all the time and effort that Dr. Diaz has put into teaching us effective planning. The tools and methods that she provided us with are useful and have made the writing process a whole lot smoother. Mapping out all of your thoughts every step of the way helps to make your ideas and points come across clearer  I also think that the essay questions that she provided are interesting. Writing about topics that catch your interest also make the writing process fun. Surprisingly, I am actually excited to write my essay and get Dr. Diaz's feedback.

My Expectations of the Course

Up until this point in my education, my studies of African-Native Americans and Afro-Latinos have been very limited. From what I have witnessed throughout my middle school and high school years, they are not topics that are given a substantial amount of focus or attention. 

Unfortunately, they are two cultures that are overlooked in today's society. My hopes in taking this course are to learn more about the two cultures in depth. I want to develop a better understanding of the African-Native American culture in particular, considering the fact that I am an African-Native American myself. I am interested in learning what parts these two cultures play in today's society. I would like to know more about the origins, the people, the beliefs and the traditions and so much more. What are the common grounds that these cultures share? What are the differences? What sets them apart from all the other cultures? What political struggles have they overcome? Where did the cultures originate? It is my hope that this course enlightens me on every single aspect of the cultures from food to music to politics and religion.  As a Television Production major I am also particularly excited to see if any contributions to todays media have been made by the African-Native Americans and Afro-Latinos. One of my career goals is to help change the way that African Americans are viewed in todays media. By the end of the semester, I am hoping that the knowledge that I have gained in the course helps me to fulfill a newly added career goal of putting a new spotlight on some of the less popular cultures such as the African-Native Americans and the Afro-Latinos.