Home

Welcome to my ePortfolio! 

This project has come to be due to my Writing 220 course that all students in the Writing in Minor take at the University of Michigan! The goal of this course is to explore different genres of writing and to progress as a writer and a person as we experiment with different formats. Each person starts with an “origin piece”—something we’ve previously written (it can be anything from an academic essay to a blog post on social media), and we shape it into something new in our experiments. 

My origin piece was a short (around six pages or so) academic paper that discussed Taylor Swift and the ways in which she has succeeded in the music industry through the use of masking (the process in which an individual camouflages their natural personality or behavior). I had originally written this paper for a summer class that I took when I first enrolled at the University of Michigan. However, summer semesters are shorter than fall and winter, and I didn’t have time to expand the paper as much as I wanted to. Thus, I decided that I wanted to make the paper my project for the semester. 

Deciding how I wanted to present the perspectives I planned to expand into was more difficult than actually picking my origin piece. I had many ideas that I wanted to explore and little experience in any of them, despite how much I love writing. Having so many options and so little knowledge of any of them left me conflicted and a little overwhelmed. Nonetheless, I managed to decide on one topic: journalism. This allowed me room to put my opinions in, but also use a style of writing that I had an interest in but also was slightly familiar with. My original plan for the piece was to discuss how Taylor Swift impacted feminism, but I felt as though my writing instead led to a discussion of how she views it and explains it to others (although there are limitations to this, as she is the only one who can truly know). 

For my second experiment, I was a little more focused on what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to continue down the path I had created in experiment one, but I wanted to try something new– some form of multimodality, and I looked into options to narrow it down to two: a podcast or a video essay. I kept an open mind during this experiment, since I wasn’t fully sure the direction I was going to go with the discussion. I first created a script with my voice alone where I discussed some of my opinions on Taylor Swift, along with some of the research I had found in my previous research (in experiment one). However, after finishing the script, I still felt like there was more I could do, so I decided to make it into my FRP (Fully Realized Project). 

My fully realized project focuses on the pros and cons of Taylor Swift's impact around the world. I discuss this with two of my friends, August and Elaina, who offer insight into their perspectives on some of the decisions she’s made. This discussion not only offered information that I had not previously brought up but also shed some light on some things that I had not heard or considered. Throughout the process of creating my FRP—and the semester—I have progressed immensely as a writer and person. I have learned new writing techniques that have helped me better express myself to my audience and have gained knowledge in other writing formats that I never would have explored on my own. In addition to this, doing my research on an area that I’ve been slightly familiar with has allowed me to open my viewpoint on the subject. It’s taught me to keep an open mind to new information that might not support what I’ve believed in the past. 

My ePortfolio explores a lot of Taylor Swift and feminism as a whole. This semester has allowed me to explore new topics and interests and encouraged me to grow as a writer and person. Not only did I learn, but I also had fun while doing so. I’m happy with the entirety of the semester and excited to see where this project has the potential to go in the future. 

Thank you and I hope you enjoy it!