Category Archives: Week 1: Introductions

Hi I’m Jackie!

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Hi everyone my name is Jackie! I am an English and Comparative Literature major who transferred from San Diego Miramar College this year. I am super excited to continue my education here at SDSU and I’m looking forward to all the knowledge I will gain from classes. My favorite form of writing is creative writing, I feel like I can write for so long and just pour out my ideas freely. I currently work in dentistry and love working with teeth just as much as I love writing creatively. I am so passionate about both and after graduation I hope to continue working in dentistry while still continuing my writing because why not? 🙂

Outside of work and school, I enjoy creative outlets that mainly involve working with my hand such as painting (even though I am not super great at it), ceramics— which I did in 3 semesters of at Miramar. A newer creative outlet I’ve picked up is learning how to play the drums. My dad is a musician and has guided me into learning how to play the drums, it was so hard for me at first but I’m proud to be able to play a couple songs now. With most of these hobbies, I tend to put them on pause during the semester because things can get pretty hectic with work and schoolwork so I definitely look forward to them during the breaks. 

I am looking forward to this semester with all of you!

Intro

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Hi everyone! My name is Angelina Gonzalez! I have lived in San Diego my whole life, and though I’ve always wanted to travel the world (and hopefully I will when I can afford it), I know that I’ll always come back to San Diego. I love to complain about the monotony of San Diego’s usually temperate weather, but deep down, I know I could never handle the struggle of the extreme cold or heat. I feel truly spoiled to live in this beautiful city! 

I transferred from Southwestern College in Chula Vista in 2023. Originally I was set on pursuing my major in psychology, but as I moved along in the college process, I felt like I was missing something. I’m currently double majoring in Psychology, as well as English & Comparative Literature. I feel so happy that I get to learn about something that I am truly passionate about, and expand my understanding of the world. 

A little bit about me, is that Im the second of four daughter, and we are animal lovers. I currently have 5 dogs and one cat, so you’ll often see me covered in dog hair (which I try and fail at removing). I love to knit, and crochet, although I often unwind most of my projects because I’m a terrible perfectionist. This means it takes me forever to finish a project. I am by no means an expert and every project I start teaches me something new! Like most in this class, I am fond of reading, specifically from the works of Jane Austen, which have been accused of being a bit boring and slow. While this critique can be true, I still love to read about the way Jane Austen portrays women during this time as complex, flawed, and intelligent. 

I’m so excited to be part of this class’s effort to tackle this book together! I look forward to learning from all of you!

Introduction

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Call me Jesmond.
I am a Lao-American in their fourth year of majoring in English. There’s not much to this post since I am a quiet person and not really experienced in writing long posts but I’ll try to introduce myself as best as I can.

I am a neurodivergent person (austistic) who loves to read and game. I used to read a lot of books in middle school and high school, and I am especially interested in monsters such as vampires, zombies, and ghosts. Since I am taking this class along with ECL 305, my monster curiosity is beginning to expand to those of the deep: mermaids, sharks, whales, and the great unknown.

I initially chose this class to fulfill a requirement for my major, but when I learned that it was about Moby-Dick from an email from the professor, it resparked a memory. I have tried reading Moby-Dick in the past, but I wasn’t able to make it past the first chapter because it’s that dense. But when I learned that there are other classmates here who are facing similar struggles regarding this book, I knew I wasn’t alone. So, I am taking this opportunity to learn more about Moby-Dick and hopefully the reason whales are involved in this novel by the notorious Herman Melville himself.

As always, I am looking forward to hearing from you all and getting to know you more. For now, here’s a selfie I took at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on the month of July.

Introduction – Omar Arvizu

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Hi everyone! My name is Omar Arvizu, and I’m an English Comparative Literature major starting my junior year here at SDSU after transferring in from Southwestern College. My goal is to become a teacher eventually, but my ultimate life goal is to write the script for a movie (and why not, win one of those little statuettes that Hollywood personalities love to hand out to themselves).

I grew up in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, and moved to San Diego when I was 16 years old. I had to learn English in a matter of weeks to keep up with the classes. I have lived in National City and Chula Vista since 2018, so these cities have become my home, even though Tijuana will always be my true home. Outside of school, I’m a huge Dodgers fan (huge as in, I watch all 162 games each season, plus the postseason), I love writing fiction, and sometimes, when I feel really inspired, I write poems. The movie theater is my safe place (This year, I started going alone, and it is a one-of-a-kind experience; I fully recommend it). I also enjoy listening to rap music and playing board games with my friends.

As an English major, I have developed a love for reading the classics, which offer such an insight into humanity, even centuries later. I’ve always heard about Moby-Dick but never actually read it, so I’m curious to finally see what makes it such a classic. It definitely looks intimidating, but after reading The Canterbury Tales in Middle English, I feel ready to tackle any complex text. I’m excited to break Moby-Dick down together and hear everyone’s thoughts in class.

Looking forward to getting to know you all this semester!

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Intro

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(Left: me Right: my friend) 🙂

Hi class!

my name is Arabelle, and this will be my last year at state. I am majoring in English and Comparative Literature, and am very excited to start grad school some time in the future! I enjoy my time reading on the beach with friends, hiking some of the trails here at san diego! One major thing I would love to do after graduation is visit the Philippines, along with Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries during the summer. I really enjoy hiking, so I am very adamant that my friends and family start day one in the Chocolate Hills in Northern Luzon! Besides future excursions and activities, I try to help my mom with the donation and charities back at her hometown in Cebu. So far, we have washed and folded as many clothes in boxes to ship overseas. With that, I love being organized and thrifty with my money so I try to do my own diy bangs at home, which I am in the process of growing back again. Excited to learn about the material in class and getting to know all of you!

oh hi

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Hello everyone, my name is Zach, and I’m an ECL (English and Comparative Literature) major. I just transferred from Grossmont College with an AA on English/Creative Writing with a focus on novel writing, so this is my first semester in SDSU. I’ve been working on a sci-fi novel series and a ninja-based modern fantasy story for over a decade, gathering research and data for worldbuilding and improving my craft, but these aren’t the only genres I work with. I also specialize in writing dialogue for video games and wrote a few scripts for some indie ones.

Reading books is the last hobby I indulge in. I’m mostly playing video games (I saw a lot of posts mentioning games I’ve played), listening to music, watching anime, or arguing with ChatGPT about the authenticity of my characters and the plot of their lives. When I don’t feel like doing any of those, I read light novels and manga. I haven’t read novels for a while now, even though Tom Clancy and Rick Riordan has been in my shelf for a few years (and as I checked, I STILL haven’t read Ender’s Game either).

I was intrigued about Moby Dick when I first heard of it, until someone said it’s 800 pages or so. Um, if it’s about someone hunting a whale, why the heck is it that long? Taking this class finally answered that question I’ve had for as long as I started considering writing as a career path, and though it’s intimidating, I’d probably rather read it over making progress on my books…

HI HI HI EVERYONE!

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Hi everyone! It is a pleasure to meet everyone!

My name is Darian Murillo. My pronouns are she/her/they/them, but I identify as gender fluid so it’s perfectly fine with whatever pronouns. I am a transfer student from San Diego City College and I’m majoring in English. My dream is to become an author and write about fantasy (my favorite genre) and express my feelings towards writing, but mostly be able to express myself creatively because I want to connect with people who maybe have similar passions or feelings when it comes to certain obstacles in life. I got back into writing after my grandma passed away, it helped me be able to let go of the anger and sadness I was holding onto, so now its become my salvation.

I have a passion for reading and writing , hence why I work in a bookstore (BEST JOB EVER!) so far my favorite books are the ACOTAR series, Jane Austen, Hunger Games, Fourth Wing and others. I love anime and K-pop, soooooo if anybody has recommendations let me know!!! I enjoy getting tattoos once in a while, but I mostly get anime and video game tattoos and they all have a different meaning to me. I have two dogs which we named Max and Rambo and three cats which we called Luna, Momo and Ume. I also love love LOVE MATCHA!!!!

I’m excited and nervous to be in this class and getting to understand more about Moby Dick because I want to challenge myself in order to understand more about classic literature.

Hello Hello HELLO

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What it do, My name is Howard, but you can call me Brock, but my family calls me by my chosen name… Dis-Appointment. I was born and raised in Jacksonville, FL until I was 19 years old and then I went off into the military where I lived and breathe the sea life for 10 years. Ive been to 26 different countries and lived in Spain for over a year! Anchors Aweigh my boy!

I don’t take myself or life too seriously, but I suppose I’ll try to approach this course as seriously as I can. I love to read, but my best reading and writing comes after I have had a bottle of Rosé in me, so please be aware that my future blog posts may show signs of me being half inebriated and possibly emotional.

I’m a very social person who loves to talk and listen to others. I love sex, drugs, and rock N roll (in that order)! My escape is the gym, where I go to be antisocial. It’s my way to let off steam and be in my own world for an hour or two, focusing, meditating, and working out these chest-ticles. I’m an open book, so please feel free to approach me and ask me anything. I do not get offended. I look like Tazran and sound like Jane, so it’s the best of both worlds.

I’m ready to “dive” feet first into Moby Dick. I say that now, but I’m sure I and half of the class may be regretting this later. Like Troy Bolton and Gabriella said, “We are all in this together!”

Hey Everyone! I’m Ashley

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I am an English and Comparative Literature major starting my junior year. I just transferred in from Mesa College. Although it is my first year since transferring, it is not my first year at SDSU. Years ago (longer than I care to admit) I attended SDSU fresh out of high school. I dreamed of being a writer. But a lack of self-confidence, combined with the pessimistic attitude of an 18-year-old led me to drop out. Now, after five years of chipping away at an AA in English, I have returned with a sense of optimism and a true desire to learn. In other words, I am SO excited to be here, but we’ll see how I feel in the middle of the semester.

Anyways, a little bit about the non-academic side of my journey, I was born and raised in San Diego. Specifically, the Pacific Beach community. I grew up surfing, playing tons of sports, and just always at the beach. My upbringing has made the ocean like a second home to me, sometimes even a first, and I am tremendously grateful for that. I have recently discovered a passion for doing triathlons, which may be evolving into a love for open water swimming. My last class at Mesa was a Marine Biology class. I wrote a short paper on sperm whales and have become fascinated with them. My dream is to free dive with sperm whales in Dominica. Overall, I am existing in a realm of self-discovery right now and absolutely loving it. Oh, for work, I’m in the restaurant industry. Bartender, server, barista, you name it, I’ve even worked the line. If you’re ever in PB you can usually find me at Kono’s Coffee cart. I’ll make you a pretty good coffee.

Introduction:

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Hello! My name is Athena; I’m a senior majoring in Native American studies and minoring in recreation. I’m a San Diego local but I often travel back and forth to visit my family on our tribal reservation. 

I’m a writer, currently working on an experimental novel involving; the undead, grief, time travel, my own tribal cosmology, and curses—ones that can be afflicted or born with. I’ve always loved writing, and I believe the best way to improve my own work is to study and analyze the classics. 

In my free time I enjoy drawing characters, playing with my lovely cats, altering and making my own clothes and mosh pits. My favorite book series of all time is the Hunger Games trilogy! I am equally excited and pre-devastated for the new movie—the book was brutal. 

I’m eager to partake in this class, despite the fact that I am terribly introverted. I tend to let my appearance speak for me—so I don’t have to, but I’d love to meet new people and learn why this book is so peculiar.