Tag Archives: introductions

Jazmine V. Introduction

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Hello everyone, my name is Jazmine! I am a junior that has recently transferred from San Diego City College. I am majoring in English and Comparative Literature with aspirations to become a professor. Not sure if I want to teach city college level only or universities as well. Only the future will tell! I am highly interested in learning about literature and viewing it in different lenses. It’s a bit troublesome for me to introspectively look at text and think deeply.I tend to look at literature pieces at face value but that is slowly changing. I think it has to do with topics that don’t peak my interest. But, with each literature class, I gain more practice fine tuning this tough skill. 

Outside of class, you’ll find me, nowhere for the most part. I am a huge homebody! I love to stay in and stream my favorite tv shows. I’m currently obsessed with Taskmaster season 19, Adults on FX and, the entirety of Abbott Elementary. Plus, I play plenty of Stardew Valley on my switch and am actively trying to perfect my farm! I am yearning for an update on Animal Crossing! Funny enough since I am an english major, I should say I love reading books but in reality I’m not an avid reader, I have periods where I am glued to a book and when finished, then I don’t pick up another novel for monthsss! Also, my brain can’t comprehend annotating a book. It doesn’t feel right but I do admire it when I see others with all their colorful tabs and thoughtful notes in the margins. 

Besides all that, I really do look forward to this class with y’all and can’t wait to learn about mermaids and their symbolism!

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 all, I’m 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.

Now, what got me into monsters (and this class?) To put it simply: fear drives curiosity. According to one of Jeffery Jerome Cohen’s seven theses of monster theory, “fear of the monster is really a kind of desire.” Monsters are the personification of our fears and anxieties, yet there is something about them that makes us want to learn more about them. This curiosity inevitably leads us to create more monsters, until eventually we become the monsters others want to learn about.

It was only a few semesters ago when my fascination with monsters started. First, I took a class about monsters and was first exposed to Cohen’s theses. Next, I analyzed a children’s literature novel on vampires and expounded on the concept of the other and “othering”. And last, I applied Cohen’s theses for a comparative analysis on vampires in media with the help of my classmates.

That is why monsters, especially literary monsters, fascinate me.

As for this class, I didn’t know what to expect since it was simply listed as “Literature & the Environment,” but when I got an email from the professor that it was going to be about mermaids, I knew I was in for a ride. Mermaids are a type of monster to be expected in media, although some mermaids may not be classified as monsters. Mermaids can represent our desires to explore the depths, but they can also represent what we sacrifice. Our freedom, our legs, our way of life–what will we give up for ocean life?

That is all for now. I am looking forward to hearing you all and getting to know you more.

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!

Hi I’m Sierra!

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Hi everyone!

This is my second year here at SDSU, as I transferred from Fullerton Community College just last year. I am a Comparative Literature major, and my dream after college is to go into Special Education for elementary school. I decided to major in Literature because I think that stories and books are incredibly important to accessing windows and mirrors to worlds we’ve yet to be exposed to. I like to believe this major makes me more well rounded and empathetic in my understanding of the world around me.

Outside of school my past times mainly consists of being with friends and family. I find the older I get the less time I have to just be in the company of the people I surround myself with. I like to go thrift shopping, getting coffee/matcha, and going to record stores.

Since being here in San Diego and at SDSU I’ve learned a lot about the things that I value. I miss my family greatly when I am here, yet simultaneously my education and my friends are my guidepost, especially as I am finishing up my bachelors. To learn and grow—to see things in new perspectives—has been a gift these past few years of college. I have never thought about the connection between literature and the environment, and I am excited to see all the directions in which this class goes.

Hello Everyone! I’m Ashley

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I am an English and Comparative Literature major in 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. Unfortunately, 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. We’ll see how I feel in the middle of the semester though.

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. Whenever my sister and I go for a swim she asks me: “wanna go play mermaids?” And no, she’s not six years old, she is an adult. So you can imagine the first person I told after I registered for this class. I have recently discovered a passion for doing triathlons, which may be evolving into a love for open water swimming. 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.