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Crossing boundaries is an assignment where we record interviews of people and their stories who cross societal boundaries. I guess, social, or just anything out of the norm.I learned through this project that people actually take out the time to listen to these things called podasts. I culture of digiphiles i didn't even know existed, that aren't blind. But besides that, I learned that Puerto Rico is considered a third world country.I agree with the comments from my piers, they are absolutely right. My strengths in this project were being able to construct a nicely edited piece, I suppose.

During this project I learned more about my family and the people around me that I interviewed. I learned their views on my topic and saw that we actually had a lot in common when it came to family values. I was expecting to have very different values from my family and friend, but it turned out that what we thought was important was actually very similar. Some of the unexpected challenges during this project, for me at least, was actually hitting the target length for the podcast, and then after that, adding the affects to it. I thought it was difficult because I’ve never done something like this before, I’ve played around with garage band but never to this extent. Another unexpected turn was that I couldn’t get the interview I needed from my grandmother, so I had to talk to the rest of my family about it. I had wanted a certain interview (the one that made me want to do this topic) but it turns out that my grandmother couldn’t see me in time to get it done, so I talked to my mother, my brother, and my dad instead to get some of their views in shorter stories, instead of my grandmother’s one long story. The crossing boundaries in my podcast I think were kind of different. It wasn’t a huge thing my family did, but just little things that crossed some kind of boundary. Kids being bullied, that made my dad realize his own values, and standing up for the kid being bullied, in some small amount, would be crossing a boundary, not giving in to peer pressure. I think that boundaries that came up in my podcast had to do with the little things my parents did that maybe went against what everyone else thought, and stood up for what they believed in. That tied in with my theme because generally, when they crossed some sort of boundary, they realized a value that they hadn’t seen before. 

To start off, I rather enjoyed this project. I got to learn new things about my mother. And she did really well of being her natural, funny self. The editing process (even though it was said to be hard) went pretty smooth as well. I must admit that it does not meet the time requirement by two minutes. However, I feel that I have the quality that most of the longer timed podcasts have. I liked how it wrapped up, and I really appreciated what my mother had to say. It was strong and empowering, and I was inspired by her. It stayed on the general topic of crossing boundaries. The over all process went okay, even though for about three days I had to wait on my mother. She isn’t to blame however, I’m the responsible one. It was getting down to the wire. Major crunch time. It wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle, but I don’t necessarily like to be in spots like that. I like the calm feeling that the podcast has and I don’t think I over did anything. Maybe my music could have been a problem, I’m not too sure. It all depends on the reader. I don’t think I asked to many questions, I just let it flow. One thing to I noticed is how my mom begins sentences with transition words even without being asked a question. I added them in later.  Getting back on topic, I think I did well. Not perfect. But well.

When doing the interviews it was better for me to have fun while trying to get my work done because it was more interesting not only for me but also for the people I interviewed. That’s what made the interview flow sound real and not scripted. That is what also made the people who I interviewed feel more comfortable. So they had no problem laughing in the interview or just making it sound like a regular conversation.

While I was doing this project on garage band I learned things that didn’t before about garage band. I learned how to fade out the music and bring it up when I want to. Also I learned how to change the volume on things. I learned how to use garage band by not only asking for help but just sitting down and just playing with garage band on my own. So I learned how to do things on my own.

Things I would tell my peers is to have fun when doing an interview because it makes it more fun for you and who ever you are interviewing. Also try not to just ask questions that are going to get a “yes” or “no” answer, or would just get a sentence, or two response. Try to ask questions that would build up to a story. That would also make the person your interviewing feel more comfortable because their telling a story and everyone loves to tell stories.

Prompt: What different things did you learn or realize while doing this project?

Possible categories for reflection:

• • Crossing boundaries - what does it mean, causes and effects, cost and benefits
• • The experience of doing interviews – what did you learn and discover, about others or yourself?
• • Editing and producing your product – anything unexpected?
• • Comments from your peers – agree or disagree, and why?
• • Your own strengths or weaknesses

• When I did this project I realized education wasn't valued by my parents when they were kids. This surprised me because of the emphasis they put on education now. Crossing boundaries means to go against things that society expects. It means to go against the status quo. There is always a cost when crossing boundaries. It just isn't always apparent. The cost my parents was money. They didn't make as much money. The only weakness I had was my procrastination. After I got started the project was easy.

I believe crossing boundaries generally have to do with two situations one is to better your life or the life of others and the other is to break a norm because you don’t that it fits with ones personal morals. For example moving to America was a way for Kristi’s dad to better his family’s life with the new job opportunities he could obtain in the United States. I found this project to be very fun and creative because we all got to research are own diverse subjects and explore as journalist. This made it more engaging to me because I had the ability to not make it boring. Also during the videos I learned a lot about the different and cultures in Germany and Albania. But I found that editing and creating a podcast extremely hard because some times you cant get the volume or the correct deletion of bites to fit correctly.

Strengths: Good Questions, Made it seem like a real radio/podcast, Volume lacked background noise for the most part.

My name is Tyanna Pleasant and today, we will discuss why my sister, Dabreyah Pleasant, chose to like a person of the same sex, what she classifies herself as and why, and why my older brother, Talib Bailey, does not approve of her decision. 

For me doing this interview was a great learning experience. I believe that with anybody when you do an interview like I did it should always be a learning experience. For me I knew some of the boundaries that my father had to cross but I did not know them in depth. This interview made me more knowledgeable about my father and what he went through. This also taught me more about the relationship my mother and father have. That through this time in his life she was pretty much the backbone for him. My father showed me how much more responsible he is now because of what he went through and that he is truly a better man because of this. My life would be totally different if my father was still in his addiction. The lives of my brothers and sisters would be different if my father had not made this change in his lifestyle. Him going back to church and going back to school is a lesson for everyone. He is a prime example that no matter where you come from or who you used to be that you can accomplish any and everything that you might want to. 

Preview: My father dropping out of school when he was in the third grade, and he made it in the world with the little bit of knowledge that has.

The experience of doing interviews – what did you learn and discover, about others or yourself?
Through out this experience of interviews I learned that people know what they want to say but have a hard time saying it. I also learned that people have stories that are kept untold and they personally should be told. I discovered that doing an interview takes time and patience; you can't expect to get all of the stuff and the things that you need all at one time. Hearing other people's interviews made me realize that there are some things that I can do better with mines. Also, that music does indeed have an impact how your interview grabs attention.

Comments from your peers – agree or disagree, and why?
I agree with what they said because what they said was productive. Basically they both told me that I should add music and relate it to the interview itself. If it wasn't for them telling me to add the music I don't think I would like my finishing product as much as I do.

Your own strengths or weaknesses
My own strengths in my project were the questions that I asked my mother, I asked her questions that she would know about her husband, because my dad can not speak the best English my mother had to be his translator. Also, I like the background the music, and the way it all flowed together, I chose “Successful” by Drake because it reminds me of the whole theme of my interview. The main weakness in my project is the volume, I was it was a little louder.

My father crossed boundaries when he did not near complete school but he made someone of himself, and I am proud to say that he is my father.

   In my opinion crossing boundaries means to leave something from your past behind with the potential to strengthen your present life. I think that crossing boundaries can either be a good or a bad thing. It can be good because if it works it could make your life fuller and richer, but if it doesn’t it could make your life miserable. You could possibly lose everything if you make a decision to cross a boundary and it doesn’t work out for you. However sometimes even if you think something is not working out, you are learning at the same time and can grow from the experience. Crossing any boundary and doing things outside of your familiar norm is taking a chance but it could be a fantastic chance to try new things.

    While doing the interview with my mother I learned that I actually have a lot more freedom with my life than I thought I had before. That was a very liberating concept, but also a scary one, as it opens up a lot of choices for my future. The fact that her parents didn’t understand what she was doing and she kept persevering gave me inspiration for possibilities in my life.

 The hardest part of this assignment was keeping track of which part of the interview was already done, because it is not like a paper where it is all right in front of you. I agree with all of the comments from my peers because I know that sometimes the music overpowers the voices. During this project I realized that once I got the hang of it, it was pretty easy to edit audio in garage band, it just took longer than expected. 

Prompt: What different things did you learn or realize while doing this project?

Possible categories for reflection:

• • Crossing boundaries - what does it mean, causes and effects, cost and benefits
• • The experience of doing interviews – what did you learn and discover, about others or yourself?
• • Editing and producing your product – anything unexpected?
• • Comments from your peers – agree or disagree, and why?
• • Your own strengths or weaknesses