What is your daily need for the items in your bag?

I usually head to the gym 3-4 times a week and have gotten used to carrying both my gym bracelet for access to the gym, my headphones for when I run and my water bottle. My change purse acts as my wallet and houses my bank cards and ID card (incase I head out before or after to a shop or cafe). I have also gotten used to bringing hand sanitizer everywhere since the pandemic began and therefore this is also a staple in my bag. My eyebrow pencil, lip gloss and brush are also viewed as “necessities” for my bag as I like to stay groomed after the gym or going somewhere for a long period of time and of course my mobile phone (which I cannot show as it’s taking the photo) as I like to listen to music at the gym and stay connected via the internet and text messaging capabilities housed on it.

How might these items be considered “texts” and what do they say about you, the places you inhabit, the cultures with which you engage, and/or the activities you take up?

These might be considered “texts” as they are visual representations of my lifestyle and daily habits. They tell a story of how I live my life and what I like/dislike through this photograph of them. For example they show I like to go to the gym, purchase on the go, I enjoy listening to music and I dislike the spread of germs/harming others. They also reflect aspects of my own personality as well such as my need to appear polished, my preparedness, my introverted nature at the gym via my headphones and the avoidance of conversations with strangers, my determinedness via my gym bracelet and my water bottle and large enough bag to tote various items incase of adventure or a spontaneous outing.

Thinking about the title of the course, what are the “text technologies” in your bag, if any? What do these items say about how you engage with language and communication?

The text technologies would be my phone as it houses my digital communication tools for communicating with others via text messages, emails, etc. It also shows I don’t have time to write things down with a pen and paper as I am too busy for this and therefore I utilise my phone for any note taking in a digital form (for convenience sake).  This shows that I am both busy, connected to the modern forms of communication and perhaps that I am partial to using abbreviations in my language and communication practices through text messaging tools. This item also reflects the rapid pace at which we can communicate with others in these modern times due to affordable and portable internet and text messaging tools housed on our phones, for example.

What do the items in your bag say about the literacies you have?

The items may show that I have digital literacies and am familiar with modern forms of digital representations of text on my mobile phone for example. They may also show that I have health literacies (hand sanitizer, a gym bracelet and a water bottle) demonstrated by this activity. They may say I have financial literacy through my bank cards that show I know how to move and make money to store on these cards. They may also demonstrate civic or social literacy through my desire to ensure a safe society and protect one another from the spread of germs and COVID in particular.

How does the narrative of the (private) contents of your bag compare with the narrative produced by image you have of yourself or the image you outwardly project?

The narrative of the private contents of my bag reflect a more insecure, slightly antisocial person than the image I have of myself on a regular basis due to the avoidance of social interactions by use of headphones and the use of makeup to cover visible insecurities.

What would this same bag have looked like, say, 15 or 25 years ago?

15 years ago the bag would have housed more makeup items as I was more interested and had more time to take better care of myself back then and enjoyed doing so. It would have had an iPod rather than a phone to house my music options and perhaps some body spray for after the gym as I cared more about the image I projected to others when I was younger. I would also have a plastic gym card membership rather than a computerized wristband to gain entry to the gym.

How do you imagine an archaeologist aiming to understand this temporal period might view the contents of your bag many years in the future?

In the future an archaeologist would probably find it intriguing that people toted around antiseptic spray and would perhaps think we were very clean individuals or suspect a plague (which would be more apt). I think they would be impressed with our reusable water jugs and think them to be quite clever. I think they would find the headphones to be of an archaic design and poor quality and I don’t think they would be surprised by the use of grooming products in women as they’ve been used countless times in differing forms throughout history.