For this first finds assignment, I created a picture of myself as a nostalgic, home town girl, who is very much connected to school and academic work. My finds center around ways in which my memories connect to my academic work. Although there are not many images that make this connection explicit, the juxtaposition of personal images from the past and present show a focus both on history and on academic work.
El Paso to Pittsburgh in 0 - 6 weeks
I was born in El Paso, Texas, and the only things that I have from my short 6 week stay at Ft. Bliss Army Base are the license plate in this picture, and a photograph of my mom holding me in the desert. The colorful scarf was a gift my aunt gave me when I graduated from LRC; she calls it my conception sarape because she got in in Mexico the night I was concieved. The story goes like this: El Paso was just a few miles from Mexico, with only the shallow Rio Grande seperating the Base and this neighboring country. My Aunt Georgean came down to Texas to visit my mom and dad, and they went somewhere in Mexico to drink tequilla and party for a weekend. It is rumored that, durring this two day binge, I was concieved. The guitar in the picture is Amanda's, and (although I never hear any music comming from it) it looks good as part of this south-western theme. Oh, and the cowboy hat was a gift from one of my mentor's, Dr. Jordan-Platt. We were in the SanAntonio airport following my first 4Cs presentation, and, after I tried the hat on, she insisted I have it. Apparently, she wanted a shawl from her first conference and couldn't afford it. It is funny, how good teachers help you with lessons in and outside of the classroom.