Research Symposium

BIO

Iyanah Chandler is a second-year Public Health major from Tampa, Florida who plans to go to dental school post undergrad. She has aspirations to own her own private practice as a dentist and her research interests vary. She is someone who is open to anything when it comes to doing research.

Dear Beloved SoulFlower:​ Love Letters Representing Self-Identity

Abstract

Dear Beloved Soulflower examines how academic research can be altered when it’s showered with love, eco-spirituality, and lived experiences, while
remaining steadfast in literature reviews. Using autoethnography as the main approach, this allowed for engagement with a plethora of knowledge
that showed itself as a sacred and restorative practice. Paired with autoethnography, the KUJIMA theory of collective self-motivation and
endarkened narrative theory, guided the 14 love letters that the research was based upon. Each letter displaying a different aspect of one’s life,
supported by a literature review. Using the 3CQ+Q method allowed for a more efficient understanding of the idea and its relation to each love letter.
Thus, strengthening how scholastic research can ground love through writing. The research was reframed to take a different approach that
centered love, patience, and relational aspects. Literature reviews were conducted and weaved into the writing of the love letters that contain
scholarly sources to be identified through the reframe. By doing this, academic resources were modeled through a collection of healing and
self-love. Findings suggest that when autoethnographic research was conducted and watered by eco-spirituality, researchers can view
themselves as being grounded in spirit and self-love as opposed to the standard academic identities. The research proved that autoethnographies
can help widen knowledge of identity, scholastic rigor, and belonging.

Keywords: Love, Identity, Media