Reflective Narrative as a Digital Storyteller
Working as a digital storyteller for the first time was what I’ve always dreamed of doing, but I was extremely afraid because this is out of my comfort zone. The ultimate lesson I’ve learned throughout this entire process is better time management being supported by patience. I have so many ideas in my mind that get me so overwhelmed and anxious, I start to overthink whatever assignment is given to me.
With each assignment, I grew more confident in myself because the finished product tends to exceed my expectations. I can do the work, this is something I’m extremely passionate about, so I had to give up thinking I can control everything. I love to write so coming up with content in that sense came easy, but I really enjoyed the storyboard process that allowed me to draft up my visuals. There’s an assumption that you have to draw or sketch in your storyboard, which I really let frustrate me a bit instead of asking for other ways of storyboarding. You can storyboard like a vision board using pictures, quotes, and more for inspiration. In order to tell a great story, you have to find a positive connection to enhance your story’s core. It can be the smallest connection, but people want to hear from someone who’s being their true self.
The Personal Narrative Story (PNS) required a story through the lens of our own experiences, perspectives, and ideas, using representative images, text, sound, and narration to present a series of images that evokes an emotion, presents an idea, and tells a story of transformation and reflection. I find myself to be a private person and not that interesting, yet I’m told otherwise. I battled with what type of personal narrative I wanted to share and I kept coming back to the topic of my life’s journey. Everyone has a story and up until now I thought I’d seen a lot in my lifetime, I’m realizing I haven’t even started living yet. I felt a great sense of relief and pride of myself finishing this assignment with that gentle reminder to myself, I’m in a great place.
Sense of Place (SOP) required an Interactive Feature Article to create an immersive
experience for readers and map the associational connections between things and explore
the ways experience overlays landscape in a particular community/place. I explored Downtown Marietta and really enjoyed myself more than I thought I would. I ate great food, saw wonderful art, met some amazing small business owners and locals. I also enjoyed the rich history that’s vibrant in every aspect of the Marietta Square. That’s now one of my favorite places to visit and I find something new every time.
Podcast Review was my favorite assignment of them all as we had to choose a podcast series to review. We were to present an overview of the podcast, 3 individual episode reviews and connect to larger ideas through the lens of our own perspectives. I chose Black Girl Songbook with host Danyel Smith because the name of the podcast captivated my attention. I consider myself to live and breathe music, especially music by black women that seem to never get the recognition they deserve. Mrs. Smith is an entertainment journalist, author, and more, showing her true journalistic skills combined with her passion for music. Each episode was better than the next, she constantly shows the strength of her passion and research capabilities, and how she’s able to find connections to other artists or works is amazing. I love being the type of person that can connect other artists, with appreciation, through some of the simplest but crucial elements. I feel like Mrs. Smith is the adult best friend I wish to have where we can sip on the porch with lemonade and discuss art.
Community Engagement Project (RDG) required me to work in a Content Design Team to create a Brand Content Package for our community partner, Rescue Dog Games. Each team proposed a content package based on industry and organizational research. Each member created content artifact(s) to contribute to the package. We were challenged with identifying and creating engaging content for the Rescue Dog Games Audiences: 1) event attendees, 2) sponsors and vendors, 3) general awareness for the cause.
My Role: I chose to write the interactive feature article portion because I love to tell a great story. Rescue Dog Games has a beautiful vision and mission with their selflessness, ambition, and determination to support the community and their fur babies. I admire the determination of this non-profit organization and their effectiveness of having a festival for animals and their owners. The mission to adopt or support rescue animal initiatives is what prompted me to take on this task because I want to help other viewers be affected by the emotional appeal like I did. The original content seemed a bit sad or depressing, like those commercials about abused animals that makes you feel more guilty than inspired for change. I really wanted to stress the love and hard-work this organization demonstrates daily with their mission.
It’s safe to say I had major growth spurt, change of attitude, and new form of motivation to keep growing and following my dreams of being a storyteller. This is exactly what I want to do and I know I’ll be great as long as I do my best.
