Tag Archives: about me

A child of Anansi the Spider: God of Lies and Stories

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(Photo of me taken by one of my best friends in Vegas)

Howdy, my name is Dion Jones. I was born here in San Diego but transferred here from NAU after having transferred from Grossmont Community College. I want to say that this is my 4th year in undergrad but that would be an understatement—and a lie. I am an English major who has only grown to love our study more with time.

I hope to achieve a few key things with my time on earth: become a special education teacher, become a great husband, and great father, most else I need no defined vision… yet. My favorite genres tend to involve fantasy—magic systems, swords—I pretend that they’re optional—and monsters/mythological creatures. Reading and watching eastern animation, manga, assorted action and adventure western animated shows, nature documentaries, and Godzilla shaped my love for art—especially drawing which eventually led to my love and enjoyment of stories—the lives, experiences, and imaginations of others—and the tellers of said stories. I don’t know what I hope to gain from this class, but I like stretching and building my ‘thinking muscles’, hopefully that’s enough to motivate me to do well.

Hey pick up the phone…Wassssupp It your boi..Richard Vieyra

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Hi everybody My name is Richard Vieyra .Im currently within my final year at San Diego State and am so excited to finally be so close to graduating.Ive lived In San Diego my whole life and I dont think I would change it for the world.Im currently majoring in English comparative literature and hope to have a impact within not only the world but my community.some of the big hobbies I have right now is trading card games which I started getting Heavily addicted to during the pandemic like almost everybody else.I think the only time I travel out of San Diego is to attend major events for the trading card games I like.I recently went to Anaheim to attend a major qualifying event just to cheer my friends on.Honestly I have a blast talking,trading,playing,and competing with people from all over the world.Some of my favorite card games are pokemon and yugioh,but I personally prefer playing yugioh since that is the one I grew up with primarly.I had always loved watching the cartoon growing up and saw it as just cheesy but cool such as when they introduced in the cartoon the concept of playing trading card games on motorcycles.Honestly I hope to find someone I can nerd out about this in this class since this niche hobby has become so mainstream.I will say that some of the main questions people have when I talk about this hobbie are if im good at the game?and I would say Im not dogwater at the game but decent enough to get 3rd or 4th at our local tournaments.The second question I get asked is whats the most expensive card I have within my collection and that would be the paldean fates bubble mew which is at about $400 ,but only have it because I got a really great deal from my friends who like to collect the cards as well.hope Everybody has a good semester this year and hope that we can all learn about the environment through the analysis of mermaids within this class and hope to hear from many of you soon on my blog post hopefully sooner rather than later.

Introductions!

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Hello! It’s great to meet you all in this class. I’m an exchange student from South Korea, and being here in San Diego has been so much fun! I actually studied in California when I was 11, but it has been seven years since I last visited the U.S. Experiencing both the Asian and American education systems has shown me how important interaction with professors can be. In our first class, I was surprised at how active and lively the discussion was. I hope this exchange experience helps me become more extroverted and gain many new perspectives by talking and sharing ideas with all of you.
I also really enjoy learning new languages! These days, I’m interested in Japanese and Spanish. I believe language has a lot of power, especially being able to communicate with others in their own language is truly wonderful. When I travel, I can feel the difference between knowing and not knowing the local language, and I think it opens the door to various opportunities. It also allows me to connect more deeply with a culture and understand better and embrace its differences.
I’m especially happy to be in San Diego, where I can use my English, even if it’s not perfect. I love hearing different stories from people of various cultures, and I think that is what really helps me expand my knowledge and perspective. The weather here is also amazing and I’m so jealous! In South Korea, summers are so humid that it sometimes feels hard to breathe. One big difference I’ve noticed between South Korea and the U.S. is that in America, people seem less concerned about what others are doing. I think that’s why it feels easier to just be yourself here, which I find really impressive.
Finally, I should mention that I love music so much! I grew up listening to Taylor Swift, and she’s still one of my favorite artists today. Music is such a big part of my life that I almost always have my AirPods in. I hope we can share some great songs with each other and have many interesting conversations throughout this semester!

Introduction!

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Hi, I’m Kenzy and I’m a second year English and Comparative Literature major in preparation of SST. I’m the youngest of four, two older sisters and a brother, and I love all things media. I’m a huge reader and have been since I was a kid, and I try to keep that up outside of assignments, but I feel like being an English major, it’s easy to be exposed to a lot of literature without needing to actively seek it out. I listen to music basically any time it should be silent; it’s a peaceful background noise that almost stimulates my brain just enough that it can function a little better. I love Taylor Swift so I am a basic fan girl at heart and any chance I can be about her and boy bands like 5 Seconds of Summer and even my favorite rap artists. If I’m not listening to music, I have movies or TV on. I’ve been in the film world since middle school and it’s so fun to watch it from an analytical lens even if my preference is comedy. The use of the same tactics they do in dramatic cinema to convey points in comedic or lighthearted ones is spectacular.

I was initially drawn in to the class because of its relation to the environment and that being something I care about; it wasn’t until a week or two prior to the semester starting that I actually realized it focused on environment specifically reflected through mermaids. I think the fictional aspect draws attention better from me anyways because it’s my preferred genre, and it’s always interesting to see how authors create allegories or metaphors that represent greater conflicts.

My sister and my best friend in the picture are my favorite people; I do everything with at least one of them and I will do just about anything to bring them up. They are my unintentional physical representation of how important community and relationships are to humanity.

This is Rapunzel, my old and absolutely angelic cat at my moms house 🙂

Introduction :) !

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Hello all! I’m Alyssa 🙂 I’m a fourth-year English and Comparative Literature major, and I’m currently pursuing a minor in Political Science, and I’m a second-year transfer student from Mt. San Jacinto. After I graduate from SDSU, I look forward to pursuing my Master’s in either English or Political Science.

This may sound cliché, but the main reason why I was so excited for this course is that I loved The Little Mermaid growing up. I remember when I was younger and going to Disneyland with my family, I would always run up to take photos with Princess Ariel. My Dad says I always took my hair out of a ponytail so she and I would “look alike!”

Growing up, my family and I would go to Disneyland so often when passes were more affordable, and because I grew up in Orange County so Anaheim was only 15-20 minutes away from our house! My parents have definitely raised me to be a Disney adult.

Some more things about me besides my love for Disney and mermaids are that I live in Menifee–which is north of Temecula–so I commute to and from San Diego for school. Fortunately, my boyfriend does live 10 minutes from SDSU, so staying with him and his family has helped me out getting to my classes these last two years. Anndddd I really, really love going to concerts! I went to my very first one in 2022, and since then, I’ve been to over 10 different concerts! I think my top three favorite concerts I’ve seen were Sabrina Carpenter, Cage the Elephant, and Hozier. I also have 4 dogs! I love them all so much, even if they don’t like me sometimes. I had a 5th dog, but he passed a couple of years ago. This is Cotton! He was the cutest dog ever.

Anywho, I’m very excited to learn more about mermaids and their mythological origins. I’m interested in learning how different cultures have represented mermaids as well! I’ve always loved Greek mythology growing up, so taking a class about mermaids is really going to make younger me so happy.

Week 1: Intro

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Hi everyone! My name is Megan Jue and I am so excited for this class! I am a sophomore at SDSU am I am double majoring in Economics and Finance and also have an honors minor! I am from the Bay Area. I didn’t know they offered fun classes like this so I am glad I have the opportunity to take it right now! I did not really know that this course was about mermaids but it was a very fun surprise that definitely made my day and made me 100% want to keep this course in my schedule. As someone who always loved the beach and ocean being from California I also always loved nature and the mythology that surrounds it! Some hobbies of mine include traveling (My favorite places are Monaco and New York) and going to concerts (I recently saw Zach Bryan, Parker Mccollum, and John Summit). I have a dog, Monty, and two cats, Nova and Clover who are my favorite living beings in the whole world. I also love Formula 1 and am planning on attending the Las Vegas Grand Prix for my birthday this year. My favorite store is Brandy Melville and my favorite show right now is the Summer I Turned Pretty because it rage-baits me and pisses me off but I need some adrenaline in my life!

Hi I’m Emily!

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Hello! My name is Emily and I am a third year Poitical Science major with a minor in Theatre Arts. Helping people, the enviorment, and animals has always been a passion of mine and led me to my decision to where I am today. This photo is of my dogs, Ranger and Lola, and they are definitley my babies. I adore dogs and would love to help organizations in the future centered around animal welfare. There are so many dreams and adventures I want to take care of after college and I am so excited where that road will take me.

Some of my many hobbies include reading, writing, and acting. I have been acting in plays since I was 8, and after coming to college, I realized it was something I couldn’t live without, hence why I added the minor. I also have always been interested in Greek Mythology and the ocean (Percy Jackson kid) and my friends and I often watched H20 mermaids together. I am very excited to learn more about mermaids and the oceanic enviorment and how it relates to humankind.

I am super excited to get to know more people in the class!

Hello Everyone,

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My name is Gavin and I am a sophomore majoring in Journalism. Ever since I was a kid I have always been obsessed with sports (particularly basketball, football, and soccer). When I applied for college back in late 2023, I was unsure what I wanted to pursue for a future career. Then I realized I could combine my knowledge and love for sports with my passion for writing and telling stories. One fun fact about me is that I have also been collecting a large number of sports cards for over 13 years that I hope to one day be able to sell. My dream job is to be able to one day work for ESPN as a sports broadcaster or sports reporter, and get to travel to various locations around the world to cover games. I am excited to take this class and learn more about the deeper meaning of certain texts and writing, and also how to dissect and understand different perspectives of the environment and literature.

I am looking forward to having engaging conversations in class and to learn new things about literature and environment that I do not already know.

Hi from Gale!

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Hi! my name is Gale, and if I was a mermaid my tail would be blue with orange fins like this peacock cichlid, and my mermaid power would be controlling schools of fish the way thresher sharks do with their tails. I think I would be a brackish mermaid, and live in a habitat like a mangrove forest.

An image of a captive African peacock cichlid with complex bright blue and orange patterns
An underwater image of a mangrove forest, showing mangrove roots, a bed of sea grass, and a school of small fish

I’m a Marine Biology major, Junior and new transfer this semester. I’m pursuing a career in animal husbandry in public Aquaria, because it allows me to combine my passions for studying, hanging out with, and talking about aquatic life!

My Story

Until approximately June 2021, I was very dismissive of fish. Even as a lifelong naturalist, my interests centered on the terrestrial and non-aquatic. The reason? I found fish depressing! I wondered what joy could possibly be experienced in a life of constant vicious predation, a life without air, a life sequestered to, confined by, the realm of water.

Then I started working at a pet store, and I realized several things: First, terrestrial life is every bit as brutal, cold, and unforgiving as aquatic life. There’s nothing worse about being hunted and consumed underwater. Second, fish are every bit as capable of joy as terrestrial animals; they play, they are curious, they have personalities and relationships. Third, there is nothing limiting about relying on water to live. The underwater world comprises 70% of the earth’s surface, and as I learned later when I started diving, being able to swim means having access not only to all of that surface, but to depth– everything that can swim can fly, and is not bound by gravity the way we are on land.




My experience working in that pet store (after dropping out of art school) inspired me to get a degree in Marine Biology so I could share my new appreciation of our planet with the world. I am realizing now that Mermaids might be as critical a vessel for spreading this message as public aquariums. Mermaids, for my whole life, have represented primarily Humans’ connection to and stewardship of the sea (and other bodies of water). I’m excited to see how this fits into the history of our perception of mermaids, and what this trend says about the progress of Blue Humanities.

Hello all!<3

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Hi, my name is Hahnnah Palafox (pronounced HA-NA), I am 23 years old, and this is my second class with Professor Pressman, and I’m so excited to be here. This is also my last semester at SDSU, and I could not be more ready! I’m an English major, as I mentioned in class, I’ve been bartending/working for my current job for almost 8 years now, crazy…I just started a new job for ACES as a Behavioral Technician. I’ve passed all my assessments, and I’m waiting to take the exam to become certified! I love working with children, and I’m super excited for this new beginning to take off! There is a lot currently on my plate, but with this being my last semester and only having three classes, I’m ready! I can’t wait to talk with you all about Mermaids, the Environment, and soooo much more, looking forward to all of your insights!

Here is a picture of me and my girlfriend at a recent wedding because I don’t like to take selfies!! (I’m the one not in the dress lol)