Being someone who is Amazigh and Moroccan, I felt like it was one of the most important communities that I belong to. I also thought of how little most people, especially here in the US, know about Amazigh and North African cultural identity and their community. There isn’t a very large population of us here. So I thought it would be interesting to write a paper discussing the complexity of what it means to be part of the North African community and how it challenges outdated concepts about race and ethnicity. 

     My process for writing this paper was pretty simple. I already knew most of the information I wanted to speak about. I wrote in one sprint and overwrote a bit. So, after I was finished, I went back and edited the parts I thought needed polishing. As I went back and reread, I looked at the parts that may have needed more clarification and added to the essay.

     I loved that this essay was super personal to me. While writing, I felt as though I was explaining my community and identity to a friend. It felt very natural to write. I liked the fact that even though my essay was about the North African community, it incorporated its relationship with the arab community and how the blurred lines between the two groups are a complicated subject. I thought this was a great point. Super nuanced, which leaves room for a lot of discourse.

     While we didn’t get the opportunity for peer review on this essay, as I mentioned I did go back after I was finished with the paper and edit it. I tried to read it with a fresh perspective and thought of what someone who knew nothing about my topic would think about my paper. The kind of questions they would have about it and tried to address those possible questions.

     If I was given more time to write this essay I think I could’ve gone more into depth about the specifics and details of the opinions and experiences of North Africans. I also think it would’ve been interesting to see if there were peer reviewed articles about topics similar to mine. I think i could’ve spoken more about the experiences of the Amazigh people who have not integrated and adopted Arab values. Explaining further how the affects of colonialism have created divide within our community and caused alienation and internal conflict leading to political and societal issues.

     I would use more articles and journals as resources if I could change anything about my process. Otherwise I’m super happy my topic and the way my essay turned out.