A Multimodal Representation of My Relationship to Writing

Let me preface all of this by saying that the images featured in this post of the multimodal representation of my relationship to writing do not necessarily encapsulate the multimodal representation that I created during class last week. I will explain the implications of these transformations a little later in my post, but it would make more sense to describe the thrust of my multimodal representation and how, specifically, it evokes my relationship to writing.


On either side of a divider is a "Hello Kitty" sticker that represents me as a student, on the one hand, and an instructor, on the other. Both student as well as instructor are being urged to "run," highlighting in many ways the manner in which the demands and expectations of each role are dictated by a pace that is not always comfortable for me to follow. On either side of the divider are eyes and reminders about completing assignments, paying bills, attending events, etc., nodding to the role that audience perpetually plays in and around the work I compose, and the looming deadlines and obligations that comprise balancing academics, professionalism, and economic realities. Underneath the divider, you will find two blown-up balloons that represent "family" and "friends." While these balloons in some ways threaten to collapse the careful and precarious balance that comprises my relationship to writing, they are also that which I seek to be closest to, the constituencies that seem to always hang in the balance as I work to enact and maintain my relationship to writing.


Though the first iteration of my multimodal representation included blown-up balloons that further accentuated the precariousness of my relationship to writing, the once-prominent balloons are now virtually deflated in the iteration this is featured in this post, looking more like dried-up grapes than the vibrant and vital constituencies that they are supposed to represent. Previous to my composing this post, I had plans to purchase new balloons, in order to restore my multimodal representation to its original form. However, many of the demands and expectations that materialized this past week prevented me from doing so. Perhaps, though, I think that is what my relationship to writing is all about: making time to perpetually resuscitate my relationship to my family and friends.


[I am having trouble inserting images on my browser, so I will have to insert my images later on a different computer.]