Nayelis Ruiz Baez

English 101

Professor Rosa

12/03/2023

My Cousin Francis

After interviewing my cousin Francis, it made us much closer than we’ve ever been.

During our interview, we first talked about her essential job. Francis is a retail manager for

various stores. As a manager, writing emails, essays on corporate events, proposals, etc. is a vital

part of the job, but for her, it might not be her favorite form of writing. As the interview

progressed, I learned that Francis uses journaling as a way of distress from her busy life.

Although it is not something she does as often as she used to, journaling is her favorite kind of

writing. Journaling has developed to be a therapy for her to cope with her job, and feelings, as

well as her overly busy lifestyle. There are things that I have learned from this interview and

journaling or keeping a diary is something I would like to try for myself.

Her job is more than just a job, it is part of her life, as it invades most of her time. She is

in charge and makes sure that her stores are in order and well taken care of. These circumstances

most definitely cause Francis stress. When I asked Francis about the writing she does for work

she seemed to not be very amused. I felt in these moments that I might have picked the wrong

person because of the undetailed answers I was getting, even when I pushed for further

information. But when I asked if she liked to write for others or herself better, it was like a
lightbulb went off in her head. She started rambling about the journaling she used to do and how

it has evolved. She explained that it was the perfect way to destress from work.

Francis is also a very busy person outside of work. she is a mother and the designated

family helper. Being a mother of a four-year-old is undeniably exhausting. Raising a young child

is in my opinion one of the hardest things anyone could do. Making sure they are healthy, and

happy is very important, and with that comes great stress, giving Francis yet another reason to

journal and wind down from her very busy life. Francis also helps everyone in the family when it

comes to legal documents and important business. If anyone needs to make a resume for a very

important job, Francis is the one to call. If someone is struggling to file their taxes she won't say

no to you. Just recently she helped me add my new car to my father's insurance. And Francis was

the one helping my sisters apply for college. Anything along those lines she will do. During our

interview, I asked her if any of this bothered her, of course, she humbly said no, but there is no

denying that it must be stressful to have people bring up their issues to one every chance they

get.

When Francis told me she kept a journal I was so impressed. It is something that I have

wanted to do for a very long time and has been advised to me by many people. Francis had told

me that her journaling used to be very unorganized, she just wrote “everything and anything”.

Over time it became more about her feelings and a way for her to reflect on them. She says she

writes down how she feels in that moment and then comes back to it later and thinks about what

caused this feeling. If the feeling she wrote down is a positive feeling she would reflect on what

helped her feel this way and if the feeling was negative she would then think of ways to resolve

what caused said feeling. My eyes lit up at this moment, I had heard this before somewhere. My

therapist shows me a chart now and then whenever I don't understand my feelings. In a cause-
and-effect circle, feeling causes a thought, thoughts cause behavior, behavior causes a situation,

a situation causes a feeling and then the cycle repeats. Being able to write this down and reflect

on it can help tremendously with feelings one does not understand. I felt greatly connected with

my cousin after learning that she uses this method to help her get through her day-to-day.

This interview helped me realize that my cousin is a very strong person. Even with

everything she is juggling in life, she is very graceful in doing it. Francis’ job is stressful, as well

as her personal life, and her thoughts, and to battle all this pressure, she jots down in a notepad

what she is feeling in that moment. When I learned what she did to handle this stress-filled

lifestyle it made me think that it is something I would like to try. Although it may be something

that is not for everyone, seeing how someone as busy as Francis does it, makes one want to try it.

Francis is a very intelligent person and I am glad I chose her for my interview I was able to

connect with her in a way that I've never been able to due to our large age difference and how far

we grew up from each other. A simple acknowledgment of one's feelings in a journal can help

one feel stress relief just like my cousin Francis.