Introduction
For this documentary project, we were asked the question, “How do you creatively and truthfully portray a significant person, group, place, idea, or issue in the community?” For my article and book I decided to focus on Marianne Nishifué, a woman who focuses on alternative forms of healing and works to create balance. I thought that she would be a great focus for this project because of the interesting lifestyle she lives and the wide variety of people she helps. Through this project, I interviewed her and researched about this topic to try and accurately show and describe her. I then wrote an article in my English class, which I then used to transform into a full book with images and graphic design elements.
Reflection
Overall, I really enjoyed this process and I learned a lot about book making as well as becoming a better writer. Prior to this I had not written many journalistic style pieces like this, and I really enjoyed how different the format was from the usual evidence based essays that I write in other classes. It was definitely a learning experience and I had many problems, but I am happy with how it turned out. My ideas for the layout of the book changed dramatically, and it really showed me more about the process and letting myself change and adapt my ideas.
My Process / Behind the Scenes
My Interviewee
My main interview for this project was Marianne Nishifué. She focuses on holistic medicine and she is a self-described Earth Ambassador. She works to help create balance in life, to improve emotional, mental, and physical health. She is especially important in todays westernized society, as we tend to forget about mental health.
This process was very fun and I learned so much more about Marianne. Interviewing her also allowed me to understand her on a deeper level and it also helped me better understand myself.
Profile Article
For the profile article, we were instructed to write a research paper in a journalistic style. I had such a fun time in this project because the style of writing is very different compared to the scholarly writing I am used to. It was good for me to learn new ways of writing and I know in the future I will be much more prepared for any writing that I need to do because of this project.
Linked to the image below is the pdf to read my full article:
Overall, I had such a fun time throughout this project, and this project taught me so much. I was able to get a deeper understanding for Marianne and this project allowed me to pursue this topic further and learn more. I hope to include more holistic medicine in my life and get to a good place mentally, emotionally, and physically.