Blog Post 3.3
Continuing with the pattern of my first two essays, this last installment will also portray a family element, but with a different aspect. In this essay I want to compare the dynamics of family relationships with that of friendships and discuss which is more valuable. I plan to interview some of my family and friends and ask them to describe the elements in each relationship they feel were the most fundamental in helping them become who they are.
I am undecided if I will make this draft into an audio version but it will be a hybrid essay, where I start off with a poem about family and friends and then use the interviews as examples. The title, Family or Friends” is a work in progress and may change when I have completed the first draft, but for now it works.
4 responses so far
Hi Cass,
I really like this idea of comparing the influence of family with that of friends. Both do play a huge role in who we all become, but it would be interesting to hear what people would say if they had to choose between the two. I have a feeling that some people will be torn, because both kinds of relationships can definitely be just as valuable.
By the way, I can totally see this as an audio piece, or even a video would be interesting too. I look forward to reading your draft!
-Nakeisha
I agree with Nakeisha; I can totally see this as an audio essay. It would add texture to your piece to include other voices, not just as quotes in an essay but as actual voices. In either case–audio or written essay–you’ll have to decide how many voices is just enough and not too much and how those voices make sense together. How they comprise a sample size that is just right and makes sense. You will need to somehow provide a logic for the interviewees you choose to include. Why this group of people talking about this topic?
I’m not sure it comes down to family *or* friends, does it? Can it change depending on a stage of one’s life (e.g. at certain times family is more important, and at other times, friends)? (Will this fact of “it depends” help you determine who you’ll interview?) I think our relationships are more complex than saying one type is more “valuable.” Maybe “valuable” is not a particularly useful word here, since it’s so big and broad. Think about the message you want to deliver about the relationships we form, and why, and how they shape us. Is choice an issue here? (You can’t choose your family.) Or is blood an issue? History? Maybe it’s about identity and its relationship to, well, relationships. Just keep thinking about honing what you want to explore about relationships; I think it’s too big at the moment and could get unwieldy unless you narrow your questions before you start interviewing people. Also, remember to ask people a fairly consistent set of questions, so you get responses that you can parallel and juxtapose.
Cass,
I really like this idea!
It reminded me of the quote “Friends are the family you choose.”
I agree that different voices can really add texture to your piece.
I think it will be really interesting to hear the responses you get after prompting people to discuss this topic. I think that topic is very relatable and can potentially lead to heartfelt stories of examples. Considering this I think it may be best to start by asking more people than you plan to feature and recording their answers. Seeing how they respond may give way to a particular direction in which you’d like to go. You can then narrow down the voices you’d like to feature in your essay to two. Maybe those two can even express conflicting sentiments.
Hey, I like the idea. I have lived in the USA without my family for so long, and here my friends are my only support and they influence on my decisions etc. So maybe you should also interview people who came to the US to study by themselves or to work and are separated from family, but find new friends. At least one person like that to make your piece more diverse. I feel like audio will be interesting and easier to make.