The Raab Writing Fellows Journal

Pure silence is not simply the absence of sound. It is the piercing memory of it, a raging void that howls with mimicries. Even when I cannot hear, my world is never fully quiet. “In the Absence of Sound” is a collection of creative short stories, poems, vignettes, and images centered around my experiences as a deaf individual with cochlear implants. My hearing is dependent on technology, but not even the most cutting-edge scientific advances can replace natural sound. I have lived my life not quite hearing the entire conversation, relying on lipreading and other aids to compensate where my hearing falls short. Through this project, I explored and reflected on the struggle of being surrounded by conversation, while comprehension is just out of reach. It can be lonely to be caught between the hearing and deaf worlds, even as they cut and bleed into one another. But the hard-of-hearing community is vast, and more often I find myself encountering others with similar experiences. With the support and understanding of my friends and family, I appreciate my hearing more every day. Sounds that were once artificial and tinny are now beautiful melodies. I hope this project is a glimpse into the deaf experience.

Understanding Why We Spin is an ethnographic exploration of the art of disc jockeying, the many types of DJs, and the historical and technological changes to the art form. The art of music curation and demonstration has taken many forms over the past decades from being a strictly radio hobby, to “scratching,” to now being a day-to-night job for any age and gender. In my project, I will be interviewing the Santa Barbara DJing scene to understand the DJs’ inspirations, experiences, and most importantly, their desire to choose a passion that can come with immense pressure and vulnerability because when curating music, a DJ is displaying the way their brain hears and values music on a silver platter for everyone to enjoy. While understanding the art of being a DJ, I will also highlight the marginalized groups who lead the way for acceptance in the music sphere and allow the art of music curation to be an accepting space, and what that means for us music lovers.

How do you survive in college? When I arrived at UC Santa Barbara as an undergraduate student, there were a couple of orientations and information sessions on various resources, but no one to actually guide me through the process. As a result, I had to rely on myself to learn how to juggle all of my responsibilities as well as cope with stress from various other sources. I’m still searching for the answers as I get closer to graduation. However, I want to help those who follow me by offering something I never received – clear and flexible guidance. The College Survival Guide will revisit my unique experience as an international student, who came to the University of California, Santa Barbara at 17 to start the next phase of my life. By looking back on my experiences as an international student, I plan to create a guide that invites the reader to explore who they are and what choices they might make as a reflection of my own lived experience surviving and thriving at university. My message to you is this: stress is like our own shadow – we neglect it while it is part of ourselves – instead, let’s embrace it and reconcile with it. If you are a new student at UCSB, then this guide is meant to help you navigate through the challenges of college life.