1. How did you decide what story (or stories) you wanted to tell in your audio bio? What was it like sharing this story, knowing that others would hear it? What challenges did you face in writing this narrative?
After writing my "I Am From" poem, I thought about a few lines that were reflected on after reading it aloud during class. As I began to think about ideas for the Audio Bio, I was having difficulty coming up with any ideas I deemed worthy of sharing with a community member. I returned to those few lines and rewrote them on a blank page. I just started to write a short paragraph for each line and connect them in a narrative way. I was not too worried with either the poem or Audio Bio, but maybe that was just because I began writing from a comfortable place of mind. I was challenged by the time limitations and how that requires a fully-formed story to be told in a short time period. Mainly, I was challenged by the belief that my story would not be good enough to be worth sharing, but also that it might offend the community member. Therefore, I tried to explain and word my insight in an accurate and thoughtful way.
2. Describe your process of working on this audio bio. How did you approach it? What choices did you make in your writing process that were particularly effective? What do you wish you had done differently? Why?
I wrote my story pretty easily since I was using the ideas I formed in my poem. Once I had my ideas down, I went looking for music with the right tone and I found it pretty simply. Then I reread my script to find words or phrases that could easily have sound effects to help the listener visualize my words. Unfortunately, I decided in the end that I did not like having two additional tones that seemed mainly random. I took them out of the final product, and I am happy about that decision. I wish I had more ways to help the reader visualize my story, whether using more sounds or descriptive phrases. I hope that my listeners stay invested in the story; I hope I made it interesting enough for the listener.
3. Assess your audio bio. In addition to telling us what worked well, tell us what you “failed” at in writing this piece? How did you make use of those failures? Consider the quality of your narrative, the structure, pacing, and details of the narrative, the sonic elements you include, etc. What have you learned through the process of working on your audio bio that you want to carry forward for your work on the refugee project?
I really like my finished product. It seems to be an insight into my childhood and therefore is a bit playful in ideas. I think I wanted to link my story to what I am hoping to hear about from the community member I interview. I hope I did not fail in my attempt to frame my story as best as possible. I tried to use my best radio voice - which did improve with each recording - but i think it could have gotten better at it if I kept trying. I tried to match up the music to the different parts of my story, but I think I could have made that even more effective if I had more time to learn Audacity and continue editing my piece.
I hope, especially through adding visual elements - that the refugee project will be interesting, involving, empowering, and inspiring. I hope to be more creative and explore different ways to effectively share Chanda's story. I want Chanda to be glad that she is finally ready to share her experiences and is proud to have the final product shown to the public.