example profile for A-plus Writer

The choices we make, the stories we tell

November 2nd, 2015

By Jasmine Baker,

What started as a weekly assignment in which I expected it to be interviews that made me instantly have a social croak or have the overwhelming feeling of not even seeing a passing grade in my near future, turned into an actual experience that changed the social approach for many students who would never dare strike a random conversation directed towards stranger on the street. That day, in the early eve of September, Dr. Genesea Carter approached the students with an experimental thought that was questionable phenomenal. The classroom, in the pit of silence while listening to her idea of a Stout Facebook page, had ticked with thoughts gathering about how to approach this project. Dr. Carter’s Composition writing assignment had me wondering, “How exactly am I going to approach this anyway? I mean a random stranger wouldn’t easily open up to me that easily right, matter of fact take a picture of them?”

Based off of the well-renowned Facebook page Humans of New York by Brandon Stanton, is a new twist that pushes students at Stout to discover what is beyond the mask of just a random passerby, and find some common ground and relatability. The method for the students was to conversate with a strangers, and ask questions around a common theme or just talk in general, and also ask if the stranger wanted their picture taken or not. If the stranger voted not to, it would then be a picture of something valuable to them.

The process that took place for this page to come alive was the effort of the students, meeting many times of the week, and discussing interviews that had been done throughout campus that seemed meaningful, homely, or just down right hilarious. Over 100 of posts, and the question would always pop up in class, “What is the story behind this picture?” A story from a stranger, in the case of Stephanie Zengler, but rather choose someone closer, such as her roommate.

“All I knew about before that day was her religious, and conservative background. When I first saw her walk through the door, my first thought was, "I really hope she isn't a serial killer." I didn't know much about her, and was worried we wouldn't have anything in common. “It was funny topic to talk about on that October afternoon, the MSC calm but at the same time filled with a chaotic atmosphere to it. But something as small as a tattoo could lead to a path of possibilities, and even a friendship between roomies. “Because we've grown closer over the past two months, she told me more about her story recently. Over the summer, my roommate chose to embrace the other side of the world, and tried things she was previously sheltered from. During this time, she found so much of herself, and got this tattoo to symbolize it.”

Photo by Stephanie Zengler

A symbol such as that represents us as humans, whether we get a tattoo, piercing, or even dye our hair, it represents what we stand for and the choices we choose it to guide us to our future. “Whenever I see this tattoo in person, or through picture, I'm always reminded to keep moving in a direction. I may not see much value in learning about the industrial revolution, or how to solve a matrix, but I take solace in knowing that it's all leading to something.”, Stephanie had stated with an awe of inspiration in her words. With that in mind, the question that I ventured out for after that answer was “Can we find a deeper meaning behind these posts?” and “What can strangers who wander on this page find in regards to relatability in these posts ?”.

I soon interviewed Danielle Macguire, another student who participated in Humans of Stout page. I wanted to know exactly why the students would choose the people that they posted on the page, with that in mind I had approached her scavenging for the answer. I asked if she, in anyway related to the quote “"Don't be afraid to smell different types of flowers", one of the post she had posted on the page. “In a way I do connect with his story, because I'm not afraid to try new things, I go out into the world with an open mind and like to try new things.”, Macguire openly stated. In a way this connects back to my original thought that we are given different choices, and that we can take these experiences of others and influence how we choose our life.

Photo by Danielle Macguire

In another interview I had with Danielle, I had asked her about another post that was relatable not only to me, but to Danielle as well. With the perspective of both art majors looking into this post, I asked what deep meaning was behind this picture. “I think the meaning was it was just a doodle but it turned out to be beautiful and very detailed, and that art is an escape and you can make anything you want, even things you dream about.” People like the girl in Danielle’s post have a focus of making anything come to this world, whether it be art, science, writings, anything can possibly be made from human inspiration.

Photo by Danielle Macguire

We inspire to be like other people, and make friends, acquaintances, even strangers who teach us that life is just a rollercoaster of imperfections, that’s why we have to build it to our liking. All the people behind the page, whether they continue this project or not, have learned so much about the single story. A single story can be so easily corrupted, but from the words of others who have lived under circumstances much more difficult or even similar to us, we learn the true meaning behind the single story in the first place. A story is not only words and pictures, but a window to other people’s values and feelings that connects us all in the end.