Thursday, March 24, 2016

Journal 6--Dillan

1)   3 Big Takeaways 
  1. Typing a transcript is a wholly time consuming task. When we began preparing ourselves for our interviews I had no clue that my few questions would lead me to having to type out a transcript that took me like five hours to complete. Writing my profile was a comparatively quicker process, but I attribute that to the fact that I had spent so much time with the transcript and constantly reviewing my interview. 
  2. I consider myself a fairly capable writer, but making this profile was probably one of the most taxing things I had to write during my college experience. I think I found this project so oppressive because I desperately wanted who Dominique is to really show in my writing by putting the profile into the 1st person perspective. I became an editor. Dom told the story, and I simply gave his story some form and the resemblance of a narrative. 
  3. My life is one of practicality. Life has been simple and straightforward, and I have always thought people should keep their aspirations practical. Luckily, I've always had the stability of my parents throughout my own life, so I've never known true hardships or insurmountable odds. I never had the reason to want to dream of something greater because everything went pretty well for me. With this profile I met a man that has seen some really negative aspects of the world, but he keeps his head up and dreams about making it in Hollywood. I learned from him that the world can be cruel and filled with selfish, destructive people, but there is still room for those who dare to dream like he does.
  4. Proudest Aspect- I am most proud of my attempt to capture Dom's voice in my writing while trying to stay true to his story. I have already shown him the profile, and he loved it. He told me, "Man, this stuff is great. I could never write like this--couldn't tell my own story like this, man. I am going to keep this forever, and whenever someone wants to know who I am or what I am all about I'll just give them a copy of this, and they can learn all about it."
2)   2 Favorite Profiles
  1.   Donald Bean- I will probably never forget Mr. Bean. First of all, the photo of him just awkwardly standing beside his dinosaur immediately caught my attention, and I arguably spent too long looking at this old man in the woods. I think I liked him so much because he was a man holding onto his own ideals of success. No, he didn't have financial success, but he had dreamed of making a dinosaur park and that's what he did. He followed his dream, and he found great joy keeping after his dinosaurs. He just hung out, and he loved his park. I valued this aspect of him so much because I often daydream about opening my own business, but I think I'd be too afraid to start one up. Typically, a man is measured by how much money he makes, but Mr. Bean didn't make a fortune from his park. It could be argued it was a financial failure, but it was a success in his eyes, which gives me a little bit of confidence. 
  2. Van Calvin- Ms. Calvin was just another person that just said so much in her own photo, and again it was just weird enough to hold my attention. I often find myself dedicating a lot of my own time to my crafts, so I really respecting her commitment to her mannequins. I wont forget her because she inspired me to want to find a skill that I identify with myself and excel at it even if it is something abnormal like mannequin restoration and makeup. 
3) Essay Three Topics
  1. Status of the "Grotto of Redemption"- I am curious if it's still being built/still stands.
  2. Serpent Handlers- what states allow it and why? Why do people insist on the practice?

2 comments:

  1. Writing the transcript was tougher than doing the profile itself. I also had to spend hours doing this. Donald Bean was interesting, I am surprised that his park is still around.

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  2. I didn't realize that interviewing someone and writing a transcript would be so time consuming. I also found it difficult to write my paper using the voice of the person I interviewed, while also writing a good story. I agree with you that Bean was respectable because he was doing what he loved even though it wasn't giving him very much success.

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