I am linking my ‘What’s in My Bag’ post to that of Grace Reid’s. Grace hooked my interest with her first sentence stating as she did that she was ‘…drawn to the themes of capturing and connecting.’ Like me, she indicated that she journaled; unlike me she appears to journal much more diligently and in a variety of formats. I was interested to read how different aspects of her life (work and school), thoughts and ideas are captured in different formats. It’s clear that the tools through which she transmits and captures her thoughts are significant for her. It is interesting to me to think about how she has compartmentalized her thoughts not just by topic or parts of her life but also by the tools with which she captures them (e.g., laptop, apps, paper notebook, special pens). I do this too, but did not think to express that in my own post. Significantly, there was no laptop in my bag and I am not much for putting down thoughts in my smartphone. 

Grace’s post makes me reflect on how we present different parts of ourselves and express ourselves differently through different mediums, even when what we are revealing or expressing is not meant to be shared with others. Even when communicating with ourselves (i.e., journaling) we attach significance to the medium. I know I still associate being personal as using  pen and paper, although I am sure this is changing for me too as I spend more time expressing myself in digital formats.

To a casual reader I would think her work is much more inviting than my own. The picture she provides of the content in her bag is much clearer and larger than the one in my post. The typescript is friendlier. Unlike me, she has included navigation tools at the end of her page. Overall, her post is pleasing to the eye and has a level of freshness and organization that I am envious of. In contrast I shared more biographical information about myself in my post, however I think there is more warmth in Grace’s post and greater insight into how she captures her thoughts through text. I see in her work a successful marriage of image and ideas (text). In my own post I think I have not complemented the text as well as I could have. This might also reflect the fact that I am sometimes guilty of being satisfied with ‘good enough’, rather than putting in a little more effort to elevate the work.