Top Artifact 3
I decided to choose Item to Archive from module 13 because it is simply more thought-provoking than the other modules. The question about happiness is quite simple; however, it seems daunting. The answer to this question seems to change from time to time and even become more abstract. If one asked a 5-year-old what makes them happy, then the answer would be their favorite meal, toys. But the same question asked to a young adult, maybe not so much of a physical item, but could be more time for friends or more time for themselves. As for me, there are so many possible answers that I think it made me happy. But I think all of these answers have one thing in common: a tiny little something that happens unexpectedly that makes me happy. For example, due to covid, I did not see how pretty the campus was during spring. In the spring 2020 semester, the school moved online after spring break, and I took all online classes in spring 2021. I WAS SURPRISED when I saw cherry blossom trees and other purple flowers blooming around campus. I took my camera out of my bag and snapped some pictures. The campus’s unexpected beauty and the good shots made me happy all day long.
I firmly believe that happiness is related to physical health, not the other way around. Despite suffering from cancer or incurable illness, some people still try their best and live the happiest days. Unfortunately, similar to those stressed out from the illness, their condition only worsens. My grandpa was deaf, so my family was able to hide his medical diagnostics from the doctors, which helped him live the rest of his life stress-free from his illness. On the other hand, my grandma was stressed out regarding her illness, and we saw a decline in her condition fairly quickly.
Top Artifact 2 (module 7-10)
I have to admit that picking the best Item To Archive is one of the hardest things. Each ITA assignment is unique, and I feel more aware not only of myself but from other perspectives, too. For example, module 7’s ITA is very close-to-the-heart, and when I tried to recall all of the happy moments, just the thought of it made me very happy. But when I did module 8’s ITA, I thought it would be hard to convey since people do not know me well just by reading my ePorfolio. But when I let one of my friends and a coworker read it, both of them said that was totally out of my character. I then brought up whether or not to include this in my ePorfolio; they told me not to include this because of the same reason I mentioned above. But I think the winner for this round of ITA is Module 9’s ITA. This assignment compared gender stereotypes in occupations with someone from a different culture. I decided to sit down and go through these questions with one of my shift supervisors, she is a Mexican American, and I thought it would make a great contrast.
So while sitting down and working through this list, we found some things in common. We both agree that lawyers, pilots, chefs, mechanics, architects, and system engineers were more male-dominated, while babysitters dancers were more female-dominated. Several items on the list said they are not associated with one gender, especially with teachers and doctors. Our most interesting conversation was about whether a makeup artist is a female or male, and we both agree that there are a lot of famous male artists. So we decided to let it as a male occupation. Even though there are talented female makeup artists, we do not know much about them. Some of them work for major retailers such as Sephora or Ulta, which I still consider as makeup artists, and I think they work behind the glamorous.
I thought it was interesting to sit down and discuss gender stereotypes in occupations with someone from a different cultural background. I learned more about Juliana and her perspective, which I think was a fascinating experience, and I love how we often brought some stories from our backgrounds to prove our points. We just began like “oh, yeah, in Mexico,…” or “In Vietnam, this job is more female dominate, but…”, and our conversation will deepen. There were many moments when we both thought that there could be many similarities between the two cultures. What I learned through class slides or from the textbook was more abstract, and sometimes, I found it hard to wrap my head around specific topics. But then, when talking and comparing a little bit, I connected the concept with a story, which I think enhanced my learning. I felt I learned more from this assignment and enjoyed it a little more, so I decided to choose Module 8’s ITA for this round of ITA.
Top Artifacts 1 (Module 3-6)
My favorite “Items to Archive” was from module 3, in which I had to locate an item that represented my culture. Every “Item to Archive” is fascinating, but some are more fascinating than others. For example, module four ‘s “Item to Archive” was a little boring, while module 3,5,6 are thought-provoking and intriguing. I wrote a lot for the module 5 assignment; however, it sounds pretty similar to “Weekly blog 2” in some aspects, so I decided to leave it out. “Item to Archive” 3 was an assignment that stayed close to the heart, and it was something that I wanted to show the world about it. After I finished the assignment, there was a “wow” moment that I wanted people to know about it. At that moment, I was very proud of being Vietnamese.
I learned two things after the assignment was to embrace my cultural identity and learn more about the item itself. Not many people know about this, but I rejected my cultural identity for a very long time. I refused to accept that I was Vietnamese; I did not want to associate with anyone in the communities, or I just pretended not to understand Vietnamese. I recently started to accept that is a part of me, which made me who I am now. This assignment helps me embrace it more, and I love it. I also learned more about the Ao Dai, Vietnamese national costume, and I am also looking forward to fitting one.
The first two pictures are my sister’s Ao Dai, and I asked her to let me take a phote of them for this class. The third one I took a few years ago during Vesak Day, and my sister was the main character in this picture. I love this shot because she wore a traditional Ao dai and looked very lissome.
