Unlike my younger brother who can write beautifully with music blasting through his headphones, I cannot concentrate on my writing assignments with disturbing noise dividing my attention. Even as I was writing the previous sentence you just read, I had to tell my mother to lower the volume on the television that is conveniently located right behind my desk. My writing process is very similar to baking a soufflé. They both take a heap of time to complete and can easily be destroyed by a loud noise. That is why I plan to work on my autoethnography in quiet areas where there is not much noise to come tumbling down on my fragile thoughts.

Apart from Sundays, each day of my week begins with a long train ride. Since I live in Brooklyn and go to college in the Bronx, I’m on the train early in the morning when the subway performances have not yet awakened and the passengers are too tired to make any kind of ruckus. Lucky for me, I can use the quiet train carts to work on my autoethnography.

The question I will be seeking an answer for in my autoethnography revolves around religion and culture. And what better place is there than the New York City subway to be surrounded by an enormous multitude of religions and cultures? People watching can open doors for new thoughts. Each passenger is unique and if I even if I encounter people of the same religion or the same culture, I will have the opportunity to watch the different ways they behave and the way they choose to present themselves to the public eye. My journey from home to college takes me across three different boroughs! This means I get to study people from vastly different parts of New York City and how their area of residence influences their behavioral and physical characteristics. This will be the place where I can both observe and write about the people in my city.

Another place I will be writing my autoethnography in is The Brooklyn Kensington Library. This library was built a few years ago and is breathtakingly beautiful. The wide windows light up the rooms with the golden rays of the sun, the colorful glass ornaments dangle down from the ceiling like a vibrant rainbow and the comfortable chairs make it easy to wind down and relax. I plan to spend my Friday afternoons in the Kensington library to continue my writing from the morning commute. In the no-talking zone of course.

I’m encouraged by hard work. When I am surrounded by other people who are working diligently, I become inspired to put in my best effort as well. The Kensington library is always filled with motivated individuals and I want to join their flow of productivity. The quiet of this space will give me the chance to study myself and how I fit into the question I’m trying to search an answer for in my autoethnography. Here, I can take the time to carefully craft my ideas into words and polish my writing in a way I can present it to others.

I saved the best place for last. My home. No matter how many spectacular sites I visit in the greatest city in the world, there is not a place that brings me greater joy than being home with my family. Since I like to write when it is quiet, I will be working on my autoethnography early Sunday mornings when everyone is asleep and no one can turn on the T.V. behind my desk. I use to have a very boring and dark work setting made up of a black table, a black chair, and a grey laptop. I became sick of it last year and decided to give it a mini makeover by adding fairy lights and surrounding it with my paintings and ceramic sculptures. Working on my autoethnography in a place surrounded by my artwork will inspire me to be creative with my writing. I often have a hard time translating my thoughts into words because I feel as if I’m not capable of writing well. My art pieces will remind me that I have the ability to create beautiful work.

This entry is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.