This document contains photos and descriptions from a PhotoVoice project. It discusses several photos related to culture, identity, hobbies, community spaces, and accessibility issues. The photos cover topics like Asian food, crafts, fishing, disability access, and LGBTQ issues.

1. PhotoVoice Examples from spring 2010 Photo credit: University Hospitals and Rainbow Injury Prevention Center http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/251

2. In this photo, I show a bowl of noodles with a pair of chopsticks sticking out. In my Vietnamese culture and food rule, we always eat everything with chopsticks and with every meal we eat, there is always at least a bowl of rice or a bowl of noodles. My parents were born in Vietnam and were both raised this to eat this way and they then passed down their eating styles to me and my sisters. So whenever I see chopsticks and/or noodles/rice, I always think of my Asian culture and how this is an everyday occurrence for me everyday.

3. At this age, if I were to describe my identity as simply female. Growing up I was relatively tomboy-ish. I would wear my brother’s clothes to school and around the house. It wasn’t until I came to college that I started to shed my tomboyishness and started to become more girly. I think I was mostly influenced by the media and my friends and that being girly was something I had purposely stayed away from. But as I got older and became more aware of myself, I realized that I liked a lot of girly things and that I liked being girly.

4. Exercising, Exploring, and Enjoying… Being physically active is a very important aspect of my identity. Years ago a weight training class changed my life substantially. Through this class I discovered how capable I truly am, which in turn led to greater self-confidence. This increase in self-confidence has had a positive effect on every aspect of my life. My passion for exercise has enabled me to explore new surroundings, meet new people, and enjoy living once again!

5. I experience FLOW when I am preparing material for a paper, presentation, or discussion. I do it best in the comfort of my own home where I can relax, eat, and sit surrounded by my materials. An important component of FLOW for me is knowing that I will use the material I am preparing to teach or facilitate a group discussion. Although I have yet to really feel FLOW while I am in front of a class presenting material, I think it will happen soon.

6. What I see here is a heart. A heart can symbolize the love, passion and care for something or someone. I see a nice sunny day. Maybe someone hearts sunny weather. This heart can put out a message to anyone who walks pass this. I see it as if we’ve gone through so much war and battles, it is time to put it to an end. This can relate to anyone who hold something or somewhere close to the heart. For me, it’s San Francisco. Moving to San Jose was very difficult for me and since I lived and grew up most of my life in SF, it will always be a part of me. It reminds me that no matter where I go to , I will always have a home and many memories here in San Francisco.

7. Photovoice This is a photo of an amigurumi crochet project. It may look like a simple craft project, but time and mental concentration go into making amigurumi dolls. Doing crafts can be a favorite pastime for people. They could be bored (as in my case) and want to kill time. In doing crochet, one can pas time and be productive at the same time. I experience FLOW when I crochet. It takes concentration and long periods of sitting to make one of these dolls, but it gives me time to think. I look forward to going home and making these dolls. The more I crochet, the more relaxed and stress-free I am.

8. During one of my camping trips, I took a photo of my first fishing experience. In this moment, I had experienced FLOW, because all my attention, motivation, and concentration was fixated in hopes that I better catch a fish. Numerous thoughts flowed through my mind, like whether if I should switch bates, reel in the line or migrate to the other side, as I was immensely intrigued. All these thoughts contributed to my ‘state of pleasure’ during this exciting moment. I honestly felt absolutely alive because I never thought I’d love fishing. It didn’t matter if I smelled awful, or had to touch worms because in the end, all I wanted was to catch a fish. As a result, I caught a few thanks to my willingness and eagerness.

9. Here is a cake of an Irish three leaf Clover I made for not just St. Patrick’s Day, but also for my Grandpa’s Memorial Service. I love cooking and get absorbed with the process. For this day I also made another cake in the shape of a cross that was a recipe from my grandfather. To other people, making two cakes and staying up till three in the morning the night before their grandfather’s service, would be very overwhelming and stressful. But for me, it was a wonderful coping and relaxing experience for me because I love cooking and baking and I also felt my grandfather’s presence with me while baking these. To other eyes, this may just seem like baking, but for me it was more on an emotional and happy level. I was in a mode of concentration and nothing distracted me from feeling this way.

10. This photo clearly demonstrates a strong sense of accessibility within a community, nationwide. The usage of ramps allows individuals with disabilities to access a bus with no problems. I personally believe that we can only relate if we do take public transportation. Back then, I didn’t have to rely on public transportation but when I needed to hop on for one occasion, I thought this tool was time consuming and I felt ‘late’ to my destination. Today however, I take the bus everywhere in SJ and realized that it’s a useful tool and maybe one day, if I was to injure myself, I’d be grateful for ramps. Plus, you get priority front row seating. This situation exists because not everyone drives a car, and if buses cater to people, it has to cater for the disabled as well.

11. Our culture has a tendency to view people with disabilities as non-sexual human beings. Rarely do we incorporate the sexuality of people with disabilities into our lives or conversations. This is particularly true of women or LGBTQ people with disabilities. This bed, empty of human beings but with a disability advocacy t-shirt on it, signifies the lack of awareness and the need for more discussion (or action…hehe) about disability and sexuality.

12. I SEE an area where I can relax and enjoy just sitting around on a nice sunny day. I see myself throwing a penny into that fountain and making a wish, riding a bike, or sitting on the bench talking to a friend or a date. It is an area as nice as a park to have a picnic. During the time this picture was taken, there were seniors on the side of the plaza playing chess and practicing Tai Chi. This plaza is usually surrounded by seniors from morning till noon. It is a place which is capable for seniors to gather around and socialize, which is in fact a positive thing for seniors. The more the are involved, the healthier they will be. I thought only Asian seniors would be practicing Tai Chi, but every morning as I pass by the plaza on the way to school, many seniors of every ethnicity are participating in it. There are people playing their instruments, like the violin, saxophone, and asian instruments each and everyday. If I had time in the morning, I would not mind coming out here and watch them enjoy their life. Seeing seniors socialize and interact with each other shows me that they are living life to the fullest.

13. Which one does a transgender male to female go into? In almost every building that we go into there are always two options, either a men’s room, or a female’s room. The big concern here is if we should label our restrooms anymore. I see these simple signs and I think of the pain and frustration that transgender people must go through. I think of how taken for granted simply going to the bathroom is. Imagine if a woman was not able to go to the bathroom in every building because there were only men’s bathrooms. I propose that we take off the gender label and put unisex bathrooms in buildings. This would make going to the bathrooms equal.

14. This is a photo of one of the bathrooms at my apartment. It is obviously made to be accessible for those who may have a disability. There are handle bars, a handheld shower head, and a bench to sit on. There is also an easy on easy off water valve which does not take much strength to turn. I feel that this is a strength in our community because it is important to realize that not everyone may have an easy time getting in and out of a shower. To enhance this good quality, this type of bathroom should be made more readily available.

15. The picture I took is a picture of liquor bottles. This represents something that is very accessible in my community. Many young students these days are able to get their hands easily on alcohol and other substances. That leads to abuse of substances under aged which causes higher death rates and diseases. This is something easily avoided. Teachers, advisors and parents should all be more careful about what their children do. Under aged drinking is becoming more of a problem in youth today due to the easy accessibility of it. We need to be more aware of the problem and take action.

16. LOOKS ARE DECEIVING with an elevator, escalator, and stairs this light rail station appears to be quite accessible. However, with an “out of order” sign on the elevator and a broken escalator this once accessible area is now rather inaccessible for individuals with disabilities. As dangerous as it was I managed to make my way up the stairs. Had I been in a wheelchair I would have been stranded. Inconveniences such as this can be avoided if ramps are built rather than stairs and escalators.