Hall !

Conner Hall

Mr. Barnum

English 1010

4/20/19

Portrait of My Writing Life

Note-taking has always been a beneficial process in my life. It helps me keep everything

organized and in sync. I have been taking notes since I was around the age of ten or eleven and it

has been integral to the way I use writing as a resource. Many of my notes are in the form of

lists, while some are simple messages, and others are random lines of creative ideas or thoughts.

The method in which I compose these accounts has evolved immensely. I started out by writing

notes on tiny torn pieces of paper from my school binders. Then I transitioned to sticky notes,

and that led to journal entries. As technology grew and became a part of my life, I began taking

notes digitally.

My note-taking obsession all started with creative ideas. Most of the these notes consisted

of thoughts or plans I had for stories, or movies I wanted to write/make. I began making films

with my brother and cousin when I was around eight years old. I was always enthralled by

filmmaking as a kid and wanted to create stories myself. I plotted out story ideas, and created

diverse characters in my head and wrote notes to preserve these ideas. I often daydreamed and

thought of ideas, so I’d briskly jot it down on the nearest piece of paper. I’d then tear it out and

keep it in a personal collection of notes. Sticky notes became a more common and sensible

choice as I progressed. This can be seen in Appendix #1 with my various sticky notes full of film

sequences and staging layouts.

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As I got older my notes became more focused on organization, and work. This mostly

began happening when I attended middle school. I found myself struggling to remember when

certain assignments were due or when an important school date was coming up. So I created a

specific note page in my school binder. This helped me stay up to date on all incoming work. I

also started writing in a journal and found myself scribbling random lists like who my favorite

bands were. These random lists can be seen at the start of Appendix #2. When I reached 9th

grade, my parents purchased me my first touch-screen smart phone. Up until this point I had a

flip phone and its only real purpose was to call my parents in case of an emergency. Gaining a

smart phone was a game changer for me. This allowed me to utilize the “notes app” to speedily

mark down notes for anything that came to my mind in an efficient manner. It was clean,

organized and effective in its delivery . This also granted me ease of access, as I had my notes on

me at all times in my pocket. Not to mention my notes were all securely backed-up in the cloud,

so I never had to worry about losing that valuable information. This is all illustrated at the end of

Appendix #2 with screenshots of my notes application. My “to-do” tab used to be chock-full of

school related data. Digital notes paved a whole new landscape for me.

Transitioning into high school, I had developed a system for keeping all my note-taking

well ordered. My lists had grown immensely over the course of high school, as I started to delve

back into my creative side and take notes on any unique ideas I had. One tab was labeled “ideas,”

and was strictly for any creative thinking. Another was titled “School To-Do,” and it featured a

check list of all the assignments and work I needed to accomplish with their corresponding due

dates. Another tab was a dedicated “to-do” list with a growing number of every day tasks,

alongside more time-consuming undertakings. Both these can be seen in Appendix #3 included
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amongst a variety of other tabs. One particular tab I created at the start of high school that was

extremely beneficial in helping me understand my writing situation better was “Goals.” This tab

was full of goals, both long and short term that I planned to have accomplished by determined

dates. A specific one that you can find in Appendix #2 is “learn Premiere Pro,” which is a video

editing software. I hoped to do this by the end of the year 2015. Every day I would view this

note, and it would remind me to keep practicing. By the end of the year, I had accomplished my

goal. Having this tab gave me an adamant mindset, and something to strive toward. I thrive on

having a task to compete and attaining it. This is something I didn’t fully understand about

myself until I started to analyze my writing/notes.

I continue taking notes to this day. Some of my note tabs consist of the same things they

did years ago, but they also feature new ones as well. Some of them are strictly related to

adulthood. A tab I now have is “Appointments.” This is a tab where I keep a log of all my

upcoming meetings or events to attend. Another one unique to the times we live in is

“Subscriptions.” In 2019 we have a plethora of video streaming services and an abundance of

online subscriptions to indulge in. There are so many that I have to keep track of all the ones I’m

subscribed to so I can keep payments straight. Sometimes I look in my subscription tab and see a

service I’m subscribed to that I completely forgot to cancel. Keeping notes on this has saved me

a wealth of money. These tabs can be seen in Appendix #3. “Appointments” contains a crucial

test coming up in my Basic Audio Production class that I’ll be sure to remember thanks to these

reminders.

Many of the reasons I found myself taking notes in the first place is because of how busy

I got once I got older. I had a lot of extra curricular activities and hobbies and it was hard to
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balance them all. I played football every fall and soccer every Spring alongside indoor soccer in

the winters. I also enjoyed making movies in my spare time. Juggling all of this while trying to

maintain a social life became extremely difficult. Some things felt out of my control and I often

felt consumed by my responsibilities. I always enjoyed taking notes because it made me feel

capable of certain situations. It helped me keep everything in order and assisted me in having a

better sense of time and schedules. I was able to look into the weeks ahead and pinpoint certain

events and schedule as such. This way I could determine which days I was able to do homework,

and determine which factors could get in the way of that. As an adult, I have come to realize the

importance of note-taking in my life. I can also go back and see how certain time periods in my

life affected what kinds of notes I would take or not take. The trials I faced and the obstacles I

overcame can all be viewed in my notes history. It’s a nice thing to look back on and see the way

I’ve grown and developed. I can also view my past accomplishments and remember the goals I

set. The notes I take to this day evolve with me and advance to new frontiers. It’s a fascinating

and insightful thing to view with an aging lens.


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Appendix #1:
Handwritten Notes/Lists from Elementary School and Early Middle School
(2007 - 2011)


• A quick and rough list of “blocking

ideas” for one of my movies when
I was young. I wrote this down so
it’d make shooting easier when the
time came.

• This was a “reminder” note. It

also applied to a movie I made
when I was young.
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• A note of “to-do’s” for

the movie.

• A note of sequences for

the film in chronological
order.
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Appendix #2:
Some handwritten notes/lists in a journal, and digital notes on my first touch-
screen phone. During Middle School to the beginning of High School.
(2012 - 2015)

• Random note based lists I wrote

during early Middle School.
They include lists of my favorite
bands, favorite movie directors,
and the concerts I had attended.
This illustrates what occupied
most of my time at this age.
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• My first touch-screen phone led

me to start doing digital notes.
This evolution began in middle
school and slowly wiped away
my paper based notes.
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Appendix #3:
All digital phone-based notes/lists. Starting from around the end of High School to
present day.
(2016 - Present)


• Most my notes were exclusively

digital by the time I was in High
School. The things I took notes
about became more “adult” in
nature once I graduated.
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Data Collection

Research Question 1 [Language and Writing Are Resources]

What does my writing situation reveal about how language or writing is a resource in my life?
How have I used writing to do, be, or make in a particular situation?

Research Methods:

1. Gathering Textual Artifacts

a. Assembled notes from my younger years and noticed my notes were mostly creative
based.
b. Got both physical and digital notes from when I was in Middle School and heading
into high school. These were mostly list based, and full of random thoughts.
c. Compiled my digital only notes from when I was in high school and to present day and
found that my notes have become much more “meaningful” and “adult” in nature.

2. Journaling and Reflection:

I went through and chronicled the activities/events/processes I went through as the
prompt asks. I studied how certain things affected my writing style and what I wrote about
through the form of notes. When I was busier with football, soccer and other activities, my note
taking was much more random and not calculated. As things became more series though, like
during and after high school. My note taking increased and was more frequent and in depth as I
used this to stay on top of all my obligations.

3. Personal Histories:
I began by writing about what note-taking and lists meant to me as a kid. Particularly in
my elementary school days when I had lots of spare time to be infinitely creative. Then I went
through my time in middle school when I started to become busier with extracurricular activities
like sports. This changed what I wrote my notes about and how they became a little scarcer in
this time period. I then moved on to my time in high school and continued to present day, and
talked about how note taking is still very important to my lifestyle. Especially now days as I
must stay organized and prepared with all the responsibilities I have in my life.