Oral History Reflection
I am a people person. One of the things I really enjoy is learning about people and their stories. Maybe that's why I'm so drawn to reading biographies and autobiographies of famous and not so famous people. In real life, I tend to ask people a lot of questions. I'm curious by nature I guess. I just like to know the story behind the person. Sometimes I worry if I'm prying too much, you know into areas people don't really want to talk about. So for me, I really enjoyed this oral history interview process. When I interviewed, I tried to keep it conversation-like, relaxed and easy. I feel that I accomplished this goal while interviewing my grandfather over the course of two interviews and other conversations. One of the most, if not the most rewarding aspect of conducting the interviews with my grandfather, was just getting to know him better. As I've stated before, I wasn't that close to my paternal grandparents growing up, or even too much during my adult life. Doing this Oral History project with my grandfather gave me the opportunity to not only get to know him better, but the chance to peer into the window of his political career. I never really knew what went on behind the scenes and how he got to where he was. Doing this interview also afforded me the chance to learn things about him I never knew. Like for instance, I never knew he never finished high school. This was the first time I heard this. I also learned after quitting school, he rode the trains with his friends, traveling all the way to Montana with the bums and finding work along the way. He wanted to see what was out there. I found this fascinating!
Another thing I found rewarding during this interview was learning how popular and respected he was and still is in the community. I realized just how much of his life was not his own while living this political life. I got a greater appreciation not only for him, but for all the people who choose to go into public office. I used to think it was all dances and dinners, but realized early in the interview just how hard one needs to work in order to become a successful candidate. The last reward I saw was how proud my grandfather was while reflecting on his political career. He seemed to enjoy talking about his accomplishments and giving pointers to those who might seek office one day. I enjoyed watching him smile and have a twinkle in his eye as he spoke so fondly of his political career. It warmed my heart and made me wish I had asked him all these questions long ago.
Some of the struggles I had with interviewing were initially wondering whose story did I want to tell? I originally was going to interview my brother and tell his story of being in the first Gulf War "Operation Desert Shield, then Storm. It was my brother who turned me onto my grandfather and his political career. It was the perfect story from the perfect person. I then struggled a bit with what questions to ask. Being older, I wasn't sure if Pop would have a flowing conversation. At times during the interview, I also worried about dead air. Sometimes Pop would just give a quick, short answer, leaving me to scramble to think on my feet to move forward. He would be finished answering and just look at me. I had to move quickly after snapping out of my thinking mode while listening. Sometimes Pop would get off topic a bit or repeat things we already spoke about. I also struggled with how was I going to take this taped interview and get it on my Weebly. Would this be hard to do? Will it even work on my Weebly? How do I learn to edit? Oh wow, so many questions. The interview was the easy part! In the end, my worries were put to rest. Everything worked out.
So how did I overcome my struggles/obstacles? I just trusted Sabatino's advice that it will all work out somehow. Just keep writing and interviewing, everything will fall into place as it should. And so far, so good. When I struggled with questions, I tried to have a back up question ready after my first dead air episode. I also tried to think on my feet and ask Pop and easy question so I could gather my thoughts. As far as struggling with whom to interview and if their story was interesting enough to do in the first place, I asked myself if I would want to know about this person's experience. When I realized the answer was yes because there was so much rich history there, I relaxed and embraced the project fully. Regarding my obstacles with editing and putting my interview up on the Weebly, I turned to my boyfriend for advice since he is a technological genius! I must admit he has helped me a great deal. He isn't doing everything for me; instead, he's teaching me and watching me do the work. I've learned how to use his video camera, learned how to upload the video in small increments to the file isn't too large, and I watch the timer on the tapes and know where I want to stop. Actually, the editing process is very long, but it's very interesting.
All in all I've really enjoyed this interview process for the Oral History project. It would have been easier to write a Creative Non-Fiction piece, but I went out of my comfort zone and tried to do things differently this time. It was challenging at times, but I made it work. This project will not end with my submission. This project has turned out to be the gift that will keep on giving. To have my 92 year old grandfather on tape reliving an important part of his life is such an invaluable treasure for me and my family! By taping this oral history, we will forever have his words and thoughts on tape reflecting on a political career that afforded him so many opportunities. I truly felt like the granddaughter who sat at her grandfather's knee while intently listening to his words of wisdom. I learned so much about the career, but more importantly, about the man I never knew. I am grateful for this experience.
I am a people person. One of the things I really enjoy is learning about people and their stories. Maybe that's why I'm so drawn to reading biographies and autobiographies of famous and not so famous people. In real life, I tend to ask people a lot of questions. I'm curious by nature I guess. I just like to know the story behind the person. Sometimes I worry if I'm prying too much, you know into areas people don't really want to talk about. So for me, I really enjoyed this oral history interview process. When I interviewed, I tried to keep it conversation-like, relaxed and easy. I feel that I accomplished this goal while interviewing my grandfather over the course of two interviews and other conversations. One of the most, if not the most rewarding aspect of conducting the interviews with my grandfather, was just getting to know him better. As I've stated before, I wasn't that close to my paternal grandparents growing up, or even too much during my adult life. Doing this Oral History project with my grandfather gave me the opportunity to not only get to know him better, but the chance to peer into the window of his political career. I never really knew what went on behind the scenes and how he got to where he was. Doing this interview also afforded me the chance to learn things about him I never knew. Like for instance, I never knew he never finished high school. This was the first time I heard this. I also learned after quitting school, he rode the trains with his friends, traveling all the way to Montana with the bums and finding work along the way. He wanted to see what was out there. I found this fascinating!
Another thing I found rewarding during this interview was learning how popular and respected he was and still is in the community. I realized just how much of his life was not his own while living this political life. I got a greater appreciation not only for him, but for all the people who choose to go into public office. I used to think it was all dances and dinners, but realized early in the interview just how hard one needs to work in order to become a successful candidate. The last reward I saw was how proud my grandfather was while reflecting on his political career. He seemed to enjoy talking about his accomplishments and giving pointers to those who might seek office one day. I enjoyed watching him smile and have a twinkle in his eye as he spoke so fondly of his political career. It warmed my heart and made me wish I had asked him all these questions long ago.
Some of the struggles I had with interviewing were initially wondering whose story did I want to tell? I originally was going to interview my brother and tell his story of being in the first Gulf War "Operation Desert Shield, then Storm. It was my brother who turned me onto my grandfather and his political career. It was the perfect story from the perfect person. I then struggled a bit with what questions to ask. Being older, I wasn't sure if Pop would have a flowing conversation. At times during the interview, I also worried about dead air. Sometimes Pop would just give a quick, short answer, leaving me to scramble to think on my feet to move forward. He would be finished answering and just look at me. I had to move quickly after snapping out of my thinking mode while listening. Sometimes Pop would get off topic a bit or repeat things we already spoke about. I also struggled with how was I going to take this taped interview and get it on my Weebly. Would this be hard to do? Will it even work on my Weebly? How do I learn to edit? Oh wow, so many questions. The interview was the easy part! In the end, my worries were put to rest. Everything worked out.
So how did I overcome my struggles/obstacles? I just trusted Sabatino's advice that it will all work out somehow. Just keep writing and interviewing, everything will fall into place as it should. And so far, so good. When I struggled with questions, I tried to have a back up question ready after my first dead air episode. I also tried to think on my feet and ask Pop and easy question so I could gather my thoughts. As far as struggling with whom to interview and if their story was interesting enough to do in the first place, I asked myself if I would want to know about this person's experience. When I realized the answer was yes because there was so much rich history there, I relaxed and embraced the project fully. Regarding my obstacles with editing and putting my interview up on the Weebly, I turned to my boyfriend for advice since he is a technological genius! I must admit he has helped me a great deal. He isn't doing everything for me; instead, he's teaching me and watching me do the work. I've learned how to use his video camera, learned how to upload the video in small increments to the file isn't too large, and I watch the timer on the tapes and know where I want to stop. Actually, the editing process is very long, but it's very interesting.
All in all I've really enjoyed this interview process for the Oral History project. It would have been easier to write a Creative Non-Fiction piece, but I went out of my comfort zone and tried to do things differently this time. It was challenging at times, but I made it work. This project will not end with my submission. This project has turned out to be the gift that will keep on giving. To have my 92 year old grandfather on tape reliving an important part of his life is such an invaluable treasure for me and my family! By taping this oral history, we will forever have his words and thoughts on tape reflecting on a political career that afforded him so many opportunities. I truly felt like the granddaughter who sat at her grandfather's knee while intently listening to his words of wisdom. I learned so much about the career, but more importantly, about the man I never knew. I am grateful for this experience.
