Journey On
Experiments
How did I get to my fully realized project?
Origin Piece
My origin piece was an essay I wrote in my First Year Writing course. The assignment prompt was to write about a time when an intentional, repetitive behavior lead to a change in yourself, so I chose to write about driving up to my grandma's cottage in northern Michigan with my family throughout my life. My essay ended up being more about how I used the journey to anchor myself as I grew and changed than about how the trip changed me. Regardless, I was really proud of the final product and genuinely enjoyed writing it.
Experiment 1: Map
For my first experiment, I chose to represent the journey referenced in my first essay in map form! I used Google My Maps to map the route from my home in Ann Arbor up to the cottage on Torch Lake, and then started adding in significant landmarks. For each landmark, I reflected on why it was important to me or wrote a short, relevant anecdote. I definitely didn't create a beautiful, hand-drawn map like I had envisioned at the start of the experiment, but it was fun to play all the little details to create this piece.
Experiment 2: Flash Essays
Inspired by Ross Gay's The Book of Delights, I adapted my original essay into a collection of flash essays for my second experiment. I had been considering considered writing short essays since the beginning of the semester, but hesitated to choose the genre because it seemed too simple and similar to my origin piece. However, I learned writing flash essays is challenging AND fun as I took a close look at specific memories and tied all of my essays together with a common coming-of-age theme .