Linking with Robyn Oliver

MY SUMMARY AND REFLECTION

I chose Robyn’s post as my first reflection mostly because I know her! We recently worked together in the summer for another MET course; and due to the nature of the course we had worked very closely together for a week straight. Therefore, I got excited when I saw Robyn’s name on the list of student webspaces and wanted to read about her experience with the tasks.

            My first impression of Robyn’s task was the difference in quantity – I clearly had more items in my bag than Robyn. It was interesting to see this difference; despite both being educators. I have thought about this before, but upon reading about her bag, I reflected on potentially minimizing the amount of items I carry on a daily basis. While I am not necessarily carrying my bag around – simply because I get to work and it sits by my desk as I walk around my classroom – I thought about the “what if”. What if I did have to carry my bag around; would I be able to, with the amount of “stuff” in there? What would happen if I got rid of something and I suddenly needed it the next day? Another immediate distinction I made, was the type of bag she uses. Both our bags were given to us as gifts, each carrying their own significance. Mine as a gift from my mother; and I appreciate the care she took to choose and purchase the bag for me. Robyn’s was a beautifully upcycled bag from a student. I found it fascinating and inspiring that she continues to use the purse and share the story behind it. While I do my best to use the gifts from students, for example the gifted key chains on my work keys, I do not think I have as close of a connection to any of them, as Robyn does with her gifted bag.

            Although, while the quantity of essentials in Robyn’s bag varied from mine, I feel that the classification of essentials was similar. She spoke of the practicality of her items and that resonated with me. My overall outlook and approach to items is the practicality of it; how is this useful? Most of the items Robyn carries serve a purpose to her daily life. While she found some items that were “expired” or admittedly forgotten, because who doesn’t, the majority were useful for her daily routine. Much like myself, she also had items for “just in case”; again the difference with mine is the amount I take with me. For example, Robyn explained her preventative measures against hunger and reactions to gluten; therefore, she always carries a Macrobar as a handy snack.

            What I found intriguing from Robyn’s experience was her insight on the nature of the assignment itself. In particular, her comment:

In considering the private nature of what is in a stranger’s bag or even pocket, the viewer’s engagement is amplified by the perceived, but invited, breach of privacy.

I did not consider this prior. I felt I was very open about my bag contents and purposes. However, I never considered it as an “invited breach of privacy”. I suppose it is dependent on the sharer. While we each willingly share the certain items from our bags, with each item builds a perception. And I think this starts from the bag itself; as it was my work purse, there is a particular perception of my teacher and grad student life. I do not necessarily think the type of bag I have would automatically indicate to a viewer that I appreciate recycling and use items as much as I can, before mindfully getting rid of them. For example, a viewer would realize that instead of throwing out my broken comb I kept both halves, and saw it as having two, that my writing utensils are quite old, or I actually prefer to use reusable masks, however teaching and talking all day is much easier with a disposable mask. Furthermore, the contents do not necessarily give the perception that I also love DIY. It does not hold my sewing kit, fabric markers or other crafty materials. Overall, Robyn’s discernment was very much appreciated and got me to reflect on the outward perception of my self, based on my bag. And while I do not particularly have issue with how people perceive me via my bag, it was a welcome introspection on the purposes of each my bag contents.