<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>In </span><i><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir, </span></i><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>there is an excerpt on page 20-21 about who you can be in the city. I think it heavily relates to our class because we are so open about being free to express yourself no matter what gender/sexuality you identify as. The author discusses a moment of leaving behind all that was, and rather traveling for a feeling of not being tied down. Through intricate imagery and metaphors, we get to delve deep into how the City of Smoke and Lights opens the door that someone was forced to keep closed their whole life. In the phrase “It sinks in deep, puts down new roots” we get to see that regrowth is a part of life. I really liked that metaphor because college helps you find yourself as you become a young adult, and even when a leaf dies, new ones grow and begin the process all over again. Not to be all cliche, but someday the small seed that gets planted grows up to be a big tree, and all those years of growth were worth it. Similarly, coming to a new school and starting a new life in another city can be very scary and you may feel lost. Nevertheless, maybe this class is more of a safe space for some people. We can be even more open, take the stubborn buds and let them blossom and not feel ashamed to be ourselves here. In other classes I’m constantly molded into this box of the student who comes to class, writes notes, and writes her essays specifically according to the rubric. However, this class is much more flexible and is like our own little city of smoke and lights since we can pretty much talk about anything and everything and get to express our research in ways better than few pages of words. </span>
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