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?
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Before creating my audio biography we wrote our “I Am From” poems, which was very helpful in writing the biography. I knew I wanted to relate my story to my grandparents because without them I wouldn’t be who I am today, so I revised the poem to revolve around them. I’m not very shy when it comes to sharing my story. I want people to know I live with my grandparents; I think they deserve all the recognition in the world. The question of why I live with them can get personal, but there are many simple ways to put it, as I did in my recording. Sharing this story allowed me to not only let others recognize my grandparents, but I was also able to truly show my appreciation for all they do. I didn’t face many challenges other than keeping it simple and not too personal. I didn’t want to make it an emotional story where people felt bad for me since I didn’t grow up with a “normal” mother and father. I wanted to make it inspiring and portray that message that if it weren’t for my grandparents I would have a totally different life, which I feel as though I did so successfully.
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Describe your process of working on this audio bio. How did you approach it? What choices did you make in your writing process that was particularly effective? What do you wish you had done differently? Why?
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​I started by revising my “I Am From” poem and taking out any lines that didn’t relate to my grandparents. I then added more “I am from” lines to help create a stronger story. Aside from just sharing a story, I found it most effective to incorporate my grandmother’s voice when I shared the family sayings and promise that I was from. Making trips home to record her voice was certainly worth it. This is a piece I will keep forever and be able to listen to years from now. I am very pleased with how the entire piece came out; therefore, I don’t think there is anything I’d necessarily change. However, I could’ve added more lines or even gone into more depth in certain areas if I had more time to focus more on just the story rather than putting it all together as well.
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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?
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Throughout this piece there were no parts that I would consider a “fail”. I could’ve done some things differently such as adding more side stories, including more detail, and music choice; however, I feel as though my best was put into the parts that I did include. I learned many different qualities that I included in my narrative and would like to carry on into my refugee project. For example, sound effects and music add so much more to a story rather than just voices. Also, pacing and pauses add emphasis within certain pieces of a story, which I used throughout. Most importantly, I learned how to silence a part, add a new track, and play that over what I silenced. I tried not to make it obvious that I recorded a line at another time, but I made a minor mistake in the middle and knew I could fix it without re-recording. This could be very beneficial to know for the refugee project for a variety of different reasons. Aside from any frustrations, this audio biography project has been an enjoyable learning experience.