Dear Portfolio Reader:

Throughout my educational career, I have loved writing. I used to make up fairytales and wrote all my thoughts and ideas down on a piece of paper. Often I wanted to be a writer and publish all these book ideas I had about mystical universes and inspirational characters. Although I tried very hard to succeed in my writing classes, I never thought I was good enough to make it one day. The grades that determined how good my skills needed to achieve my dream brought a huge stress upon me that diminished my desire. Since taking English 101, I have redeemed my hopeful thoughts to one day showing everyone why I love writing so much. My professor, Professor Pappas, gave me the room and structure I needed to try new material and improve my skills. I started off the semester with a decent amount of structural criticism on my first essay, and throughout the course I have focused on limiting those red pen corrections into just my original work itself. My biggest issue with writing is run ons and grammar errors. I have struggled my entire english and writing career with grammatical errors, and I have worked on noticing them ahead of time and focus on how I write before I just type away with something. The run ons have always been brought to my attention, but I never cared to correct it until this college writing class. I have noticed a sentence I was running a little too long, yet I never thought of how I could fix it without putting too much thought into it. I guess that’s the laziness in me that I am trying to correct.With the three essay’s themes I have written about this semester, I have very much enjoyed opening myself up to give the readers a little bit of my heart in each individual piece.

My Memoir is the first essay we were assigned in class that early March. I thought really hard on what I wanted to write about for my first essay. I had so many ideas, but when I landed on the perfect event to be part of my Memoir, I knew it would be themed Curiosity out of the CCP (Creativity, Curiosity, and Persistence) idea. I wrote about a specific occurrence that has since shaped me to the person I am today, a bisexual. Although I consider myself a reserved person, I wanted to make a statement about myself that showed I wasn’t afraid to be judged or criticized and that I loved myself for who I was. I wanted to show in this essay that it is okay to be different and to express my emotions on a very private event in my life and I hope it is reached to the readers. I was very excited yet nervous to post this on our writing blog that consist of my entire class I see twice a week and even complete strangers I never met, but that was the thrill of knowing I wrote something that I cared for that was all once inside my head and is now there for the world to see.

My second writing piece for the class extended on the CCP idea of the general theme Curiosity. I had to think of a question that could relate to curiosity. I thought, “Well everyone is curious about something at least once in their life” so it brought me to think on how can curiosity play an important role in life and what does it give us? Curiosity plays important roles in everyones life somehow and that being curious can branch into different ideas and feelings. This essay was a little more research based and really helped me brush up on creating a works cited page which I then learned that I was doing it wrong for the last four years. I enjoyed finding articles and essays with a similar perspective to mine on curiosity, and even making me think more about my subject and shaping my essay to what it is now.

The third and final essay I decided to include in my portfolio was an annotation essay on Geishas. This type of writing was new to me and at first seemed really interesting, but was my hardest essay to write. It was less on personal experience and very much all research. Although researching all these facts seemed dreadful, I really enjoyed picking a topic I was interested about and learning more about the culture, history and more. It was fun, but a lot more work than previous essays. I picked the topic of geishas because I wanted something that would tie myself into the essay, my interest in Asian culture, but I also wanted something that was different and not really thought of before with an interesting background. Being our last essay in class, I wanted to show my skills I have improved throughout the course and also wanted to connect myself to it in some way like the previous essays.

I hope you all see and enjoy my true thoughts and parts of my life in each topic of my portfolio picks. I have very much enjoyed taking English 101 and the essays I have written.

Erica Joyce

Curiosity appears somewhere in everyones life. We think, wonder, plan and dream of our future and what’ll become of ourselves. In my experience, I have struggled understanding my curiosity since I could remember and tried to decipher what it really meant. When I was younger I always felt like something was wrong with me, different. It was not until fifth grade that I started questioning my sexuality and undergoing a long journey of self discovery.

* * *
Going into the large blue doors of a new school meant meeting new people as well. It was the first big step into growing up and the worst part of it in all honesty. The moment I walked into my ELA class on the second day of school, I knew I found a friend. Lindy and I became close that day we wore the same forest green shirt with a giant, be-jeweled flower pin and denim skirt that day. “We’re twins!” we always said to people same; straight brown hair, same height, same obnoxious and crazy personality. Lindy was very much “boy crazy,” claiming she had so many boyfriends in elementary school and was interested in many of my male friends. She always wanted me to date her “boyfriend’s” friends so we could all sit together at lunch, since it was middle school and any relationship that occurred was only during school hours. Before that awkward stage was hitting hard, I was always obsessed with boys, whether it be a fictional character in a Disney movie or my neighbor that I always pretended to get married to when I was little, but I was shy and wanted no part in the dating of a random twelve year old boy. Soon I began to realize that I liked the fact that I knew Lindy, we shared everything together. She held my secrets and weaknesses and I knew they were safe; she was someone I felt comfortable enough to even see myself in a relationship with. During that age hormones tend to take over and that comes with spurs of emotion. One of the first nights sleeping at Lindy’s house, we were playing Grand Theft Auto (in her sister and her joined) the small pink bedroom she shared with her sister, laughing over a guy that recently broke one of our hearts and how great it would be to just date each other since we were joined at the hip. I began enjoying the idea of a relationship with her and felt the overwhelming feeling in my stomach to confess to her my feelings. “I care about you more than any guy, I like you…I think.” I said in complete red-face, looking back at the TV screen. Silence. I was beginning to regret this, thinking that I said something weird. Oh my gosh what have I done? I apologized so fast for causing a weird tension that she eased quickly. “I feel that” she said with a reassuring smile and a hand on mine and we went back to playing the video game.

Going back to school, I was confused on how we were going to act. What were we at this point? We never established exactly what that was over the weekend. I sat next to her in class and she never acted different from before the exchanging of those words. I wasn’t going to say anything to her though. Maybe I missed something and was just wrong on how she felt, we just acted as best friends and nothing more.

After some time of not mentioning our last situation, I started feeling doubt. “Am I just overreacting all this?” I thought. Maybe this is just what having a real best friend feels like and I was mistaking it for something different. Lindy would come to me and go on about a new crush in her life and I felt jealous, “That’s not how you feel with just a friend,” I thought to myself.
As the year went on, the two of us turned into the four of us: Danie, Lindy, Gina and I. We all went over Lindy’s every weekend and late night chatted about rumors and new flings happening in the school. One early Saturday morning in the middle of spring, we all stayed up a little too late and thought it would be silly to play truth or dare. It was harmless at first, making each other call a boy up and yell something stupid or eating a mysterious concoction someone would whip up, but it started to turn into something else. A friend dared Lindy to kiss me…on the mouth! I felt nervous and I didn’t know how to feel about it. I was just talking about crushing on a boy in my math class now I’m about to kiss my best friend? Lindy didn’t even flinch at the dare, we were about to share our first kiss with each other and I was sweating bullets and she was so carefree. I take a huge breath in as she gracefully leaned in It was a quick peck, but it was just like in the movies. My heart was racing and I could feel my cheeks blushing red with embarrassment. As she leaned in I could feel the softness of her full lips pressing on mine. As she pulled away the familiar smell of her perfume and a tickle of her hair on my cheek trailed behind her. Someone shouted “ooohh!” and giggled our success of the dare. We never spoke of it after, but having my first kiss with her always stayed in my memory.

* * *

Ever since my first kiss, I contemplated what I really was: straight? Gay? I wasn’t sure anymore. It started to drive me crazy! I’ve had boyfriends, but that moment years ago always stuck in my head. I was afraid that if I was gay, how would people treat me? You hear horrible things all the time about bullying and suicides that it backed me in a corner of where I was. I did research one night to help me understand the concept of bisexual as a sexual orientation. I heard of bisexuality, but only in episodes of Sex and the City when they labeled it as being “young people being selfish and asking for attention.” But the concept of it made so much sense to me, it almost was a refreshed feeling, like a snake shedding the old skin and becoming new again. Without my past feelings about Lindy, I wouldn’t have been able to understand that it isn’t what media and ?TV shows interpret it as, it’s a true feeling that many people struggle with in their life.

I hid my attraction to females and focused on only allowing people to see me as straight. I wasn’t sure how my parents would feel. They are supportive people and have raised me that everyone is equal and is born a certain way, but never shared the possibility that I could be anything other than straight. I was so concerned with how others treated me that I never opened up, until I met Andrey.

Over the last three years our relationship has grown into something very special and hi knowing and accepting my past has made me be able to better myself for the future. Because of him I am able to be comfortable with the conversation of my sexuality and how curiosity in life can help open our eyes to a much bigger picture. My life has been a journey and is still going and I look forward to learning more about  myself and seeing where I end up.

Curiosity can be a wave of overpowering feelings about a questioning topic or idea, or, even as, a doubt in the back of your mind that you have always questioned but never reached out to what it really meant. Everyone experiences it differently, from life changing questions that change the way of thinking, viewing and living to multiple people to everyday challenges such as buying a new product you want to try out. Not everyone experiences the same level of curiosity, but it affects us in some way in life. How can curiosity play an important role in life and what does it give us?

Curiosity has been a force throughout history. Without it, many people and events would not have happened and civilization would probably never exist; basically without curiosity we would still be living without the knowledge of how to start a fire, building landmarks and creating important documents. Sarukkai claims “The concept of curiosity has a long and interesting history, and the birth of modern science is concurrent with attempts to modify the meaning of curiosity.”(Sarukkai). This article explains that scientists and many other historical figures would be lost without their curiosities on the world and life itself. Sarukkai explains that the capacity of how much curiosity someone has the essence of science itself. So, the more curious or driven someone is to discover a newfound wonder or imagination they have, the more likely they are to go forth and conquer that desire

I can see this type of ambition and hunger through a classmate, Marissa, in her blog entry on her curiosity during a school trip. Her motive to settle her questions on life itself started on an eye-opening trip to Europe that sent her jaw to drop on the climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Marissa explains “I was looking at the world for what it was and I had never felt so happy or fortunate to have been in that moment…I had realized what it felt like to be genuinely happy with yourself and your life” (Scimone). The feeling of an accomplishment that big and a sudden realization that everything you have wondered about was right there in front of you has only increased Scimone and many others’ curiosity to the next level and opened up many more possibilities on how to answer those questions. She concludes her story by adding,“my trip is something I will always take with me, because it not only holds the most beautiful of memories, but it also carries some of my greatest discoveries” (Scimone). I believe that is how curiosity comes from experiences through the learner’s eyes.

Being curious comes in different ways to everyone. For some it may be a way people use it to build their personalities. My boyfriend Andrey is still experimenting with his curiosity on art. What will work better for his talents? Will he enjoy painting or sculpture more? It is all a big question mark that he will explore through curiosity, and eliminate for him as he experiences and tries different types of art. It is all about taking the time to look at what attracts in your mind thanks to curiosity conforming to your personality itself, making you, you. For example, I experienced it by questioning my sexual preference and deciphered the feelings I was having by exploring what it all meant. A former English 101 student wrote how curiosity itself forms a person into who they will eventually become. Sarah Buckman explains “The curiosity thats has caused a large-scale evolution of things such as sports is the same curiosity that inspires growth and change in the individual” (Buckman).

Of course many people experience doubt, like myself on the sexuality, but that is all a form of curiosity. Doubt is viewed by Sarukkai as “Doubt is based on some judgements we make about our perception and inference. But doubt, like curiosity, is what leads us to questions and also to knowledge.”(Sarukkai). Without doubt, we could not push ourselves to the max and allow us to decided what is important to discover and what is not important to just leave behind. Being doubtful sounds scary, but is an actual blessing in disguise for some because it shows how willing an individual is to overcome that doubt and go out on a risk to explore what they were so unsure about.

Whether it is finding a hobby or passion or asking the questions no one else dares or even thinks to ask, curiosity is the platform that everyone uses to evolve and progress as time goes on, and that is an important gift from curiosity. Some may view curiosity as a sinful deviation in cultures that repress creativity, critical thinking, and unique ways of learning even in young children. Sarukkai explains that many people cut off curiosity at a young age because of the fear “curiosity killed the cat” and teach children to not be curious. This is a huge disadvantage to growing and using curiosity to ask questions and make new discoveries. Without curiosity in the young, we may never develop into who we really are. For example, some parents can tend to form their children into what they want them to be by forcing them into sports, dressing them a certain way and allowing them to only associate with people of their interest and liking. This can cause children to rebel, despise themselves and become depressed or confused about who they are or what they become. A memory Sarah shares “From as far back as I can remember I loved being in nature. I loved to explore. That childhood curiosity developed into my love for camping and hiking” (Buckman).

We can see that curiosity thrives in everyones head, it is only natural after-all. Without it human nature would not have come this far and be able to grow off of. Some are more adventurous, understanding, creative and natural in the presence of curiosity and is a great aspect to have. We just all need to accept and preserve our fascination in our minds to be able to see the big picture that is life.

Works Cited

Sarrukkai, Sunday. “”Science and the Ethics of Curiosity.” EBSCOhost.com. CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 97, NO. 6, 25 Sept. 2009. Web.” Current Science. 6th ed. Vol. 97. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. EBSCOhost.com. Web. 25 Sept. 2009. 9 Mar. 2015

S., Marissa. “College Writing.” College Writing. N.p., 2 Mar. 2015. Web. 09 Mar. 2015. <http://rissasceermonie.edublogs.org/2015/03/02/my-final-memoir/>

Buckman, Sarah. “CCP Idea.” Bccenglish101blog. N.p., 6 May 2014. Web. 9 Mar. 2015

History of the Geisha

Geishas have been an Asian tradition practiced in many parts of Japan. Literally meaning person of arts, the earliest recorded Geisha-like performers were the Saburuko, who would dance, entertain and even could exchange sexual favors at elite social events (Downer). These Saburuko were mostly men during that time, but during the Heian period in 794 CE, a standard of beauty was established and female artists were in high demand until 1185. As centuries passed, the female entertainers brought many high class customers, creating a higher style of an entertainer in cities such as Kyoto. They crafted the arts of singing, dancing, calligraphy (poetry), conversation and playing tradition Japanese instruments. Although early Geisha-like workers were considered prostitutes and worked in Pleasure Quarters up until the 1800, many were gaining respect and branching away from associating with prostitution and sticking to the arts instead of finding income through selling sexual favors( Szczepanski). In 1813, the first official licensed Geisha created an official geisha registration office that was subject to strict regulations to separate the geishas from courtesans (prostitutes). It is said by Kallie “Despite the rapid modernization in Japan and the fall of shogunate (also many other Japanese cultural knows such as samurai class)” (Szczepanski), Geishas lived on and continued the practice to many young girls around the age of 13 to 15.

The Geisha lifestyle is known for keeping Japanese traditions going throughout centuries. Whether it’s the way they dress or the art and entertainment they provide, there is a part of culture behind it all. They can be seen wearing traditional kimonos and traditional hairstyles dating back to the Edo period (“Geisha”). The culture has been practiced for many, many centuries and are considered a precious, international cultural reference of Japan. The arts that geishas learn are classified as traditional dances performed at private parties or city festivals, classical songs and musical instruments such as the tsuzumi, taiko and shamisen. A main tradition the geisha culture is known for are tea ceremonies or Sado, in their established tea houses around the cities or districts. The Sado is not just a general tea party, but focusses on learning to arrange each element of the tea house in a way that respects the aesthete, such as artwork, flower arranging, interior decorating and more are considered proper preparation of the tea house prior to the ceremony. Guests are invited to the house with calligraphy and paper (traditional style). Each element is meant to bring peace and reflect the mindfulness of the preparer to the guest. It is explained “Tea ceremonies are a descent of the 16th century Rikyu, who is a known tea master” (Barua, Pickney). This shows great passion to their culture and history.
Geishas are limited to free time with the training and duties. They are completely devoted to the art and presentation of the Geisha lifestyle and mostly keep up their appearance when outside of their Oikya (Geisha house). A geisha is generally a women who is employed by a specific house, but they are mostly volunteers who train young and go into the professional side later on. Their mornings usually consists of hours of preparations to getting ready with the complex hairstyles and make-up they put on everyday. The younger trainees do not wear wigs and therefore have to do their real hair in a manner that is acceptable for outside. For younger apprentices, their day is mostly consisting of practicing a specific art or dance routine and studying on traditions (tea ceremonies, etc.). For professionals, their day is filled with meeting businessmen for social reasons, shopping at local stores, or attending a basic job duty relating to their entertainment business. No matter where they go, they are always met with a sea of photographers and tourists for pictures. In some cases, women end up marrying a Danna, or patron, who is an affluent man the geisha is bound to. Traditionally, a Danna was someone who took care of the expenses of the geisha, but now they perform the San san Kudo when they drink three sips from three cups of sake that is shared with their canna and is considered a marriage ceremony (“Women of Art and Tradition”). These basic tasks for everyday is a geishas lifestyle are very complex and vigorous compared to the normal person.

Geishas are generally considered celebrities in Japan. In the main Geisha district of Kyoto, visitors can spot many Geishas around the town, but more often being photographed. Many places in Japan offer “tourists a transformation to look like a Geisha with make-up and hair, this can take up to an hour to complete and costs about 50,000 yen” (Spacey). You may consider a Geisha to be almost like Emma Watson, or Taylor Swift. Basically, a young person that is know for her beauty, social status and talents. Just like any other celebrity around the world, it takes time, energy and a lot of work to become high in society and known around the world. Geishas are also very famous for their social games in benefit to themselves. Meaning, they are very good with making connections to the right people in order to get ahead of their career, just like how people in Hollywood get a name for themselves. It is all about connections.

The women of the Geisha lifestyle have an amazing dedication to their work life; practically their entire life is evolved around work. Geishas are known to have good relationships with important business men, politicians and honorable people. This is mainly due to their very good social skills and a “way to keep business coming in despite high prices”(Spacey) at the tea houses. Prices can be very expensive for just general things, such as a dinner, entertainment for a house party or event, almost like paying to have a friend for an hour. Their time training can be seen paying off “They charge men as much as one thousand dollars an hour for their company. Geisha are not prostitutes, as many westerners believe, but classical artists whose art involves entertaining men,” (“Geisha”). Since a young age, Geishas have worked hard to build up their rank and talents to achieve the most in the tradition. A lot of the time, they continue their work life for almost the rest of their life. The rare occasion of getting married or having kids usually means for a retired geisha to become a “mother” to the household, meaning they continue their traditions, arts and mentoring until an old age.

A Geisha, or Geiko, has numerous stages based on age, training and status. Due to girls having to attend school, training does not occur until the age of 15 where the girls start as a Shikomi in their Okiya, or geisha house (Ro) . They are now typically relatives or daughters of the Okiya household and are just maids of the household either running errands or cleaning to repay their debt of living there (“Women of Art and Traditin). The second stage is Minarai where the girls finally are allowed to practice the training by attending classes of her chosen arts, attend parties silently to observe other Geishas to learn their ways and actually can charge for their time because they are “now seen as a public member of the geisha community” (“Women of Art and Tradition). The third stage is the Maiko, or in some cases, the Mizuage. This is when the apprenticeship beginaand the Maiko is expected to pass a Mizuage a private matter when they turn eighteen and is a very secret act. This practice used to mean when the Maiko loses her virginity, but now changing the hairstyle is a way of showing her maturity. The Maiko has 5 different hairstyles depending on their stage of the apprenticeship (which can take several years to complete), they also start wearing distinct makeup and bright kimono dresses. Finally after years of training the Maiko is promoted to the Geiko, or Geisha during the Erikae ceremony. This stage means that the woman has completed her training and is able to charge full price for her time (Ro) and become a one-san “older sister” or mentor to the apprentices. You can tell the difference between the two by the collar of the dress is now white (Geiko) instead of red (Maiko), her hair is more “adult” by a less elaborate look and is expected to act more womanly than a girl. The final stage of the Geisha lifestyle is the Okami-san, if they choose to continue. The Okami-san is basically the mother of the house, this is common because a retired geisha rarely gets married, has children or finds it difficult to get a job middle-aged in Japan.

Works Cited

Barua, Zara, and Lauren Puckey. “The Japanese Geisha.” New Histories. Liam Geoghegan, 19 Jan. 2010. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.

Downer, L. Women of the pleasure quarters: the secret history of the geisha . New York : Crown publishing group (2002)

“Geisha.” Fashion, Costume, and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear through the Ages. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 24 Apr. 2015 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

Presser, Brandon. “The Secret World of Male Geishas.” The Daily Beast. N.p., 02 Feb. 15. Web. 12 Apr. 15. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/04/the-secret-world-of-male-geishas.html

Ro. “Geisha 101.” GEISHA 101 (n.d.): n. pag. mobot. Web. 12 Apr. 15. http://www.mobot.org/events/JapaneseFestival/Geisha%20fact%20sheet.pdf

Spacey, John. “Geisha: A Day in The Life.” Japan Talk. N.p., 09 Feb. 15. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. http://www.japan-talk.com/jt/new/geisha

Szczepanski, Kallie. “History of the Geisha in Japan.” About Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. http://asianhistory.about.com/od/japan/a/History-of-the-Geisha.htm

“Women of Art and Tradition.” Geisha of Japan. Amaya Booker, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.http://geishaofjapan.com