Cover Letter

I’m proud of how I incorporated the peer interview into my profile. I tried to use parts of the interview to introduce the topic of Arianna’s essay and how she decided to write it. Another thing I’m proud of is analyzing the factors that led her to wanting to write this essay. Focusing on the diary was one good way to do this because her entire story revolved around it as well.

I think any one of my peers would do well to read it to see their fellow peer’s story even further beyond the essay that they wrote. This peer profile gives additional context into Arianna’s story and can be a reflection for both her and others who may relate to the ideas she presents in her essay. The message presented in Ari’s narrative is one that more people need to hear.

One rhetorical strategy I used was quotes. I incorporated quotes from both Arianna’s essay and her interview. Using quotes from things she wrote or said herself gave it that personal flair as if she was explaining herself rather than me rewriting what she said in my own words, which was very effective and contributed to making this peer profile better. 

This essay was most helpful in understanding other perspectives. Writing this gave me insight into one of my peer’s writing and what they think about when writing. I was able to learn how their process might have differed from mine or how it was similar to mine. Being able to see others’ perspectives on their writing and their language is one of the most important parts of this course I feel and they truly help me understand the language politics that are present in our everyday life, whether through writing or speech or any other form.

Peer Profile

Arianna’s writing is a “little peek into her life and how she uses writing.” Her essay was primarily focused on her diary, which serves as her main outlet for expressing her emotions and feelings so she doesn’t keep it all in at all times. Ari’s journey with her diary is synonymous with her journey through childhood and through growing up as well as her experiences with writing. A diary is a stamp of your different versions and emotions throughout time. Ari was able to use the diary to reflect on herself and what she has been through and felt. In fact, she mentions that the most enjoyable part of writing her narrative was being able to go back to the diary and read all the different entries. It was a nice trip down memory lane for her, but beyond that it was an opportunity to see the things she went through back then and reflect. The diary events may have seemed huge back then but may seem stupid now or they may still stick as major moments that shaped her. They might’ve reminded her of important things she had forgotten or evoked emotions of happiness or sadness or madness or whatever it could be. This is the power of a diary-of keeping a memento through your life. And this powerful object is what Ari wrote her narrative about.

One thing that greatly inspired Ari was her love for reading. Specifically the series Dork Diaries by author Rachel Renée Russell. The series, written in a diary format, uses drawings, doodles, and comic strips to chronicle the daily life of its initially 14-year-old protagonist, Nikki Maxwell. As Ari mentions in her narrative, this book series serves as the main inspiration for Ari’s desire to write in a diary, more so than even her parents, she says. Ari mentions that her parents were immigrants, meaning they didn’t know English as well enough to guide her through the language. Because of this, her finding Dork Diaries at that Costco aisle led to her advancing her interest in English through her newfound interest in reading. Consequently, this also inspired her interest in writing as this was the catalyst for Ari to beg her mom for her own diary so she could start her writing journey and be just like the ones who inspired her. Another source of her inspiration to start writing was her family. Ari mentions that growing up, her family was not very emotionally open. She says “Mad, angry, and sad, there’s not a lot of variations.” This trait seems to be shared amongst a lot of immigrant families. Because of the fact that her family was not very emotionally open, Ari used the diary as a way of expressing her emotions. In this way she was able to develop her writing actively and simultaneously be emotionally open. 

Often, writings like this can be quite difficult to write about because it questions your identity and that can be hard to deal with. Ari, however, did not really struggle to tell this story. One reasoning for this was because of the time period. Going back to family and society, journaling was seen as weak back then and you could get made fun of for writing down your feelings and emotions. In fact that was a major reason as to why Ari put down journaling for a while. Fear of backlash from society can lead us to lock away things that we find enjoyable. Fortunately, Ari was able to break out of this fear and was able to find her voice in writing once again. This is also why she felt it wasn’t too difficult to write this narrative. Ari relays that she feels things like “journaling”, writing down your emotions, isn’t as taboo as it was back then. It is no longer looked down upon so she was able to feel free enough to write about her feelings and then write about her writing about her feelings. Part of this also connects back to Ari’s audience, part of which was her mother. She mentions that this narrative was in part a way to disprove her mother who didn’t like that she would write in a journal. She showed that writing and expressing your feelings is important and something that shouldn’t be locked away or taboo. The most difficult part of writing her narrative was talking about the emotional aspect. Writing about emotions is always difficult because it makes you vulnerable, and Ari’s narrative was very emotionally driven. Naturally this makes sense, because she was writing about a diary which is literally used to write down feelings. 

Arianna’s piece is a deep dive into her connection with language and how she expresses her emotions through writing. She uses a few different rhetorical strategies to achieve this. One such strategy was an Appeal to Emotion. Ari writes in a way that makes us understand the emotions she went through. Even the first two sentences pull you in with your emotions by making you think of the “little moments that you know you will never forget in your life.” Then she mentions the diary, which is typically a place where one dumps all their feelings and emotions about something. She recalls certain moments she wrote about in her diary such as her mom making her favorite dish, or her mom not telling her to go outside to play, or how she would always have to translate and understand things that were way too hard for her to understand. She writes about these experiences in a way that makes us feel as she felt by using imagery and descriptive language so we can visualize these moments and understand how she felt within these moments. Ari also utilizes a tonal shift. There was a moment where she changed and explained how she lost touch with writing. She explains how this rose from her self-esteem issues and lack of self-confidence (further going back to the appeal to pathos). By showing us how her emotions changed during this time, we are able to understand her full experience and understand the kind of person and writer Ari is. There was one more tonal shift after this, one where she is lifted out of that abyss of self-doubt and reinforces herself and her ideals. She writes about how she stops trying to fit in and decides to be herself, so she continues journaling and expressing herself in the best way that she can. 

One aspect Ari doesn’t mention in her narrative is her Spanish side. She felt that many of her peers would write something similar about losing her mother tongue and their journey with that, so she felt that she had to bring something new to the table. While she doesn’t mention it, Arianna’s journey with her Spanish side is also interesting. One detail she mentioned is that whenever she is on a phone call with her Spanish relatives, she feels that she’s always criticizing her own language. This is something that I know I, as well as many others, can relate to. But instead of writing for that specific audience, Ari decides to write for a different audience. An audience of people who struggle with the same problem of expressing themselves. Those who grew up in a similar environment like her, one that is not very emotionally open, would benefit from the message in her narrative which is that it is okay to express yourself in any way that you want, whether it be a diary or out loud. In our society, it’s very hard to be open and free with yourself and other people because even a tiny thing can cause so much backlash and hate. Ari’s narrative reminds us that you should always be true to yourself. That you should always do what you enjoy, whether it be writing or reading or literally whatever, instead of being scared of not being accepted by those around you. 

Arianna’s ability to open up about her struggles and vulnerabilities is a testament to her courage and determination. Her narrative is not just a personal story but also a universal message of acceptance and self-expression. By sharing her experiences, she inspires us to be true to ourselves and not fear the judgment of others, as society becomes more accepting of emotional expression through writing.