It’s hard to not start at the beginning with some things. The beginning seems to make the most sense… So that’s where I started. While brainstorming, I wrote out what I could remember as major literacy moments and influences in life so far. I sketched out a chronological timeline that was nice and linear, each step leading to the next: my earliest memory of writing, my negative experience in 1st grade with the teacher’s aide, my positive experience with 2nd grade winning a writing contest, being identified with a learning disability in 2nd grade, crafting a winning science project in 3rd grade… teaching high school English, returning to school for my MAEd, working the writing center, learning so much from working with writers one-on-one… It went all the way to the current PhD program I am in, covering much of my life. But all of that was a little overwhelming, so I just started with my first writing memory with my sister on the 1970s shag carpet of our playroom floor. After starting there, certain events and people seemed to fall to the side, allowing for one idea to flow to the next.
I wrote the initial draft, through elementary school and my parent’s support, and felt happy enough with what was there. But as much as I felt ok with it, I also felt dishonest. It seemed like a glossy (non)answer to a question that deserved more. So I pushed myself, into a messier, more vulnerable place. A place I don’t go to often: friends and family who aren’t here anymore but who left a significant mark on me and my path. It is certainly an uncomfortable place for me, but I kept reminding myself that if I am uncomfortable, I am growing.
Steph offered some valuable ideas on where I could take the composition. I especially appreciated her ideas on embodying/representing how I process things with excerpts from my daybooks.
In the next draft, I dug deep but ended up constructing an identity that I didn’t feel was accurate. It was too deep and too dark, and it ended without any real resolution. I knew I needed to sit with it for a little while and let the ideas percolate. What idea of ‘me’ was I wanting to construct? What is actually relevant? What isn’t? Steph’s feedback on this draft affirmed my concerns, especially the ending.
I returned to the content and tried to fill in some of the dark with my light. While I think I could continue with more ‘positive’ pieces toward the end of it, I decided cut myself off from revising the content anymore and focus on playing with the mode/media through which I could tell the story. I started by scanning images from daybook, old books, and other journals that I thought may help enhance the ideas in this composition.
First, I tried a mixed media/multi-genre kind of thing, with images and audio added to the text. But the weebly site wouldn’t cooperate with what I had in mind. The images kept moving from the spaced where I wanted. So I tried another platform, PowerPoint. I’ve never really liked PowerPoints, and my product just looked like a bland cut and paste story with pictures injected here and there. Currently, I am playing with using Prezi to arrange and connect images and ideas into one cohesive story. While I think I am on the right path now, I am still uncertain if I will try to do a voice over of text with pictures of include the text and images to explain themselves. While I don’t really love hearing myself on voiceovers, I think it may be the best way to go.
Of course, I am open to ideas and feedback that you or others may have. And I am looking forward to the rest of the course. :)
I wrote the initial draft, through elementary school and my parent’s support, and felt happy enough with what was there. But as much as I felt ok with it, I also felt dishonest. It seemed like a glossy (non)answer to a question that deserved more. So I pushed myself, into a messier, more vulnerable place. A place I don’t go to often: friends and family who aren’t here anymore but who left a significant mark on me and my path. It is certainly an uncomfortable place for me, but I kept reminding myself that if I am uncomfortable, I am growing.
Steph offered some valuable ideas on where I could take the composition. I especially appreciated her ideas on embodying/representing how I process things with excerpts from my daybooks.
In the next draft, I dug deep but ended up constructing an identity that I didn’t feel was accurate. It was too deep and too dark, and it ended without any real resolution. I knew I needed to sit with it for a little while and let the ideas percolate. What idea of ‘me’ was I wanting to construct? What is actually relevant? What isn’t? Steph’s feedback on this draft affirmed my concerns, especially the ending.
I returned to the content and tried to fill in some of the dark with my light. While I think I could continue with more ‘positive’ pieces toward the end of it, I decided cut myself off from revising the content anymore and focus on playing with the mode/media through which I could tell the story. I started by scanning images from daybook, old books, and other journals that I thought may help enhance the ideas in this composition.
First, I tried a mixed media/multi-genre kind of thing, with images and audio added to the text. But the weebly site wouldn’t cooperate with what I had in mind. The images kept moving from the spaced where I wanted. So I tried another platform, PowerPoint. I’ve never really liked PowerPoints, and my product just looked like a bland cut and paste story with pictures injected here and there. Currently, I am playing with using Prezi to arrange and connect images and ideas into one cohesive story. While I think I am on the right path now, I am still uncertain if I will try to do a voice over of text with pictures of include the text and images to explain themselves. While I don’t really love hearing myself on voiceovers, I think it may be the best way to go.
Of course, I am open to ideas and feedback that you or others may have. And I am looking forward to the rest of the course. :)