With Open Eyes: Returning to an Academic Life

Abstract

When asked to find a visual expression of my writing process for a first year PhD writing class, I saw a chance to unblock whatever was making it difficult for me to write. Searching for a meaningful way into my story, my ideas were reflected back through images of eyes – the eyes of strangers, my own eyes, and finally through the eyes of those who cared about me. Four years after a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury impacted my life, I returned to pursue an academic career. Symptoms that I thought had been put to rest were once again haunting me and my frustration level was escalating. Trying to find my way back into an academic existence was not an easy journey. The visual inquiry into eyes became a door through which I was able to gain back my words. Using poetic and narrative inquiry allowed for a further opening of releasing obstructions.

Keywords

• Concussion
• Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
• Poetic inquiry
• Language and Literacy Education
• Narrative inquiry
• Academic life