Nathalia Melecio

Professor Meaks 

WS 10200

March 12, 2025 

What does the title ‘Eight bites’ means or symbolizes, along with its repetition in the story? 

The introduction of this phrase in the text, first occurs when the protagonist mentions her mother’s eating habits, commenting that she used to always take eight bites from her plate, making an emphasis on her normal figure. A behavior that she is trying to implement, because of the discomfort of her size. Through the reading she reflects on having a toxic relationship with food, by finding herself hungry after eight bites, her inability to keep up with the diet causes her frustration, and negative self talk. The repetition of “eight bites” may symbolize a  cyclical process. In the context of the story, the protagonist appears to be caught in a loop of re-experiencing trauma, desire, or conflict. First developed in early childhood by witnessing and later appropriating her mother’s eating disorder, then establishing standards for body image.‘After, I finished what was in the pot on the stove and I was so angry I began to cry’.

Now, this dilemma seems to be rooted in unhappiness with her body image. Which makes her rely on surgery; surgery that all her sisters have done. Her changing body becomes a battleground for her identity, Which creates a void, and surfaces issues within herself, which she pretends to be satisfied by losing weight through this medical procedure, ‘finally’ coming back to her old self/body before giving birth. However this discomfort is produce by other factors.The protagonist’s dissatisfaction with her body is, in part, driven by her perception of her sister’s body and life, reflecting generational trauma, at the same time mirroring her insecurities, by acknowledging their ‘acceptable’ figure based in social standards, good relationships with their daughter, and also their happiness in general, their own perception, in which they are described throughout the story as happy and satisfied. Which creates this type of standard and pressure to align her physical appearance with them, to achieve a better inner and outer self-concept, an illusion of comfort. “Will I ever be done, transformed in the past tense, or will I always be transforming, better and better until I die?.” This question suggest the possibility of an unending, maybe unachievable pursuit for perfection or progress. It illustrates how the main character is caught in a never-ending loop of trying to improve herself—both physically and in terms of her sense of value—and is uncertain of whether she will ever find happiness or closure.

This narrative becomes a way of understanding how identity problems and body dissatisfaction are frequently inherited, sustaining cycles of trauma, insecurity, struggle, and socially constructed beauty standards. The story implies that body image dissatisfaction is a deeply rooted and frequently repetitive issue by illustrating the complexity of these.

Nathalia Melecio

WS 10200

Professor Meaks 

May 12th, 2025

 

Op-Ed Blog Post

                                                        

For this assignment, I wanted to write about the impacts of AI, the relationship and integration that has developed the last few years with this upcoming AI technology and the human race. I wanted to explore feelings, emotions, the thought process when interacting, or relying on this set of technologies, and whenever it was helpful, harmful, safe, inoffensive or potentially dangerous, focusing on the education realm. My first thought or conclusion that motivated me writing this essay was that, whenever people find themselves being curious, or confused or in need of knowledge, the reach to artificial intelligence, a ‘know-it-all tool’, provides and explores most possible outcomes.

 

 It took me a long time to write the essay, I found it difficult to approach and support the main claim, because my subject was pretty broad, which took me to  focus on educational environments.  My claim was that AI was negatively affecting students’ educational journey, especially those in higher education, reinforcing laziness and loss in human decision, depriving students of cognitive abilities and development. Trying to address the dangers that come with AI, when seeking information that could possibly be biased, and harmful. With the specific effects that has on human performance in educational environments, this type of association was quite hard to connect in an effective and coherent way.

 

I found it really interesting to talk about this topic, because when living in an advanced society where technology is strongly embodied with everyday life, I wonder how we are exactly evolving and changing with advanced technology as well. Do we really comprehend AI’s nature, in a way that can be beneficial to us?. Especially when looking and its impact on brain performance. About my writing, I really liked the flow and use of evidence. I personally found it very objective, and clear, easy to break down and understand for readers.

 

Something that I would change from my essay, if I would’ve had more time, it would be the structure and arrangement of information and personal conclusions, connections. In a way that could be more correlated, even though I do acknowledge that my resources usage was good, it could’ve been better by being more precise. Also, I would have liked to go in depth more about how the usage of  AI in higher education settings affects teachers, and their interactions with students, or possible testimonies, experiences from teachers addressing the relationship between students’ academic outcomes and Artificial intelligence. Another tool that could have helped to improve my writing is peer workshop, however I did not have the opportunity to receive feedback from other students. 

What I hope to improve about my writing is the general arrangement of information as the flow of the reading changes, by addressing different characteristics of the same claim. In such a way it can be easy to digest for the public. Something I wish to keep about my writing style is the diverse perceptions when approaching a specific claim, or different factors that contributed to the totality of that claim.