my thoughts on telling a life narrative
I have to say, this project has been an amazing experience for me. I took this class because of its relevance to my interest in creative writing, as well as my interest in journalism. I have always been interested in the Features aspect of journalism, and I love to tell one person's story. Through this class I was able to interview Yulandra, the custodian for the building I live in on campus, and I was able to put the idea of telling another's story in a completely different academic context.
Telling a life narrative is a difficult and time consuming process. Going into the course, I believed that you just turn the tape on, and the rest happens relatively on its own. There are so many other aspects that I have actually enjoyed learning about along the way, though.
It is difficult to have a working relationship, based on mutual trust with a virtual stranger. It was hard for me to develop a strong relationship with Yulandra at the beginning. Just look at the transcript from the first interview! By the second and third, she had warmed up to me, though. And I am thankful for the time I was able to spend with her. I may never have had the opportunity to learn so much about her, otherwise.
Piecing together a life narrative is also an impossible process. Choosing what to edit, and how to arrange things, makes me feel that I am altering exactly what Yulandra had to say, even though I am doing this for the sake of an audience. The editing is a necessary process so that it will follow a more linear pattern that is easier to follow. I find myself wondering why I have this right at times, though.
I think one of the more difficult processes for me was choosing how to arrange her life narrative. I entertained the idea of leaving it similar to the original transcript form, so that none of the spontaneity would be sacrificed. But then I realized that we revisited so many ideas after multiple interviews, in part because she had to grow more comfortable expanding on things as we developed our relationship. Finally, I decided on dividing it up by topic, simply because it appeared the most logical. I was afraid I would end up sacrificing some part of who Yulandra is through altering her voice or her thought patterns. So, I have left the majority of the original interviews on this site so that you may compare the final product with the process I went through.