On Paper or Out Loud?

Throughout my various jobs and graduate schooling, I have produced a lot of writing. Topics ranged from a grant proposal for collecting oral histories from voters with disabilities to a paper on why an incumbent congressman lost his reelection campaign in 2022. When trying to complete our recent creative nonfiction project, a hole in my writing resume became apparent: I never write about myself. 

I initially struggled with the project. I started and restarted the paper to no avail. I knew what I wanted to talk about; my struggle for a hobby and the hobbies other people picked up during the pandemic, but I couldn’t figure out where to begin. Eventually, after chatting with a classmate, the way I viewed the project shifted. I asked myself, if I was having a conversation with someone about the topic, instead of writing an academic paper, how would I go about it? The words started flowing then, and I decided to do a podcast instead of a paper. This way, I could tell my story of finally finding crochet during the pandemic with personality and zest and include an interview with my mom about crochet, as she is the one who taught me. 

Reading my story out loud has offered a host of other challenges. Such as the mouth noises I make when I speak, or trying to figure out how to provide quality recordings; however, overall making and recording a podcast has made writing and talking about myself more enjoyable. It feels like I’m sharing a neat story with a friend and not like I am divulging personal details about myself that I normally keep close to my heart. It may sound cheesy, as podcasts have exploded in popularity in recent years, but I highly recommend everyone try making a podcast episode at some point in their lives. It’ll not only capture a moment in time but also might change the way you tell stories.