The Process
"Its hard on a pretty day, or even on not such a pretty day not to have a certain sense tat there is something spiritual about nature and animals and the lives that they lead that are for the most part pretty untroubled and peaceful. Being able to connect to that probably has some sort of at least emotional resonance."
-Doug Waters
When I registered for this class, I'm not sure that I really knew what I was getting into. Who knew Life Narratives/Self Histories could be so complex? Apparently I didn't. This process challenged me. It made me examine the way that I view other people, how I view myself, and think about what filters other use in their own perceptions of people. We spent most of the semester reading different theories and approaches to this technique. It was sort of like opening Pandora's Box. There is a wealth of information and many different ways to carry out this method; there are advantages and disadvantages. We then dove into reading examples of life narratives so that we could have some idea of what a complete narrative looks like. The issue that I probably found most interesting was the idea of being the guardian of someone else's words. I don't think I was able to grasp this concept until I wrote my own self narrative. It was agonizing to decide what details to include, how to phrase things, which subjects to omit, etc. I understood this concept even more fully when I began the editing process of the transcripts. It felt as if I were making a value judgment as to what is and is not important about this wonderful man's life. In truth it is all important by merit of it being his life experience. But the interviewer/editor must come to a decision about what to include; what is most appropriate for the format being used.
I decided when editing the interview with Mr. Waters to try to take myself out of the interview as much as possible. After all, it is his life story. However I am under no false assumptions that what I asked, when I probed, and maybe at times even pried, had a distinct effect on the final product. This was a subject for much debate in class. There are so many external and internal factors that effect the outcome of the interview. I think in the case of my interviews, these factors were present but not blaringly so. In the end, I am extremely pleased with the outcome. I feel that I learned a lot from the beginning to the completion of this project. There were many changes even between the first and second interview. I am so thankful to Doug Waters for his selfless contribution to this project, and for being courteous enough to let me visit and photograph his farm. I feel lucky to have spent this time getting to know him.
"We have not pursued our lives with a particular outcome or destination in mind. But we have been more opportunistic and I think we both truly believe that life is not maturity, is not a destination. Life is a journey. So we have taken a couple of turns that others might have thought strange but which suited us and exposed us to an adventure."
-Doug Waters