I’m not really sure where to start. Already it’s been such a rollercoaster of emotions. Excitement, fear, gratitude, overwhelmingness (I didn’t know this was already a word until just looking it up now). This project is so different and so much more than I initially envisioned, and that’s so great. But what IS it? There’s a lot of discovery yet to happen, and I’m getting caught up in worrying that we don’t have enough time for it to happen. I know that’s not the best mindset, but I also know I’ll get over it as we get into a groove.
From last semester, I already know I’ve learned so much–heck, even from last week I’ve learned so much. I need to remember this.
And I need to remember to trust my team and the amazing skills they’re bringing to our project. (Huge shout out to Asma, lane, Nadia, and Lisa!) It’s not like high school where one person is doing all of the work (me, and I’m guessing each of my team members were also that person too). If anything I’m maybe overly concerned I’m not doing enough because I don’t want to let any of them down. Are we all feeling this?
I was so nervous reaching out to potential outside collaborators, and it was so exciting when it seemed like it might work out. Maybe it still could, but I doubt it. And I get it! Looking back at my initial proposal from last semester I was definitely too excited about other people’s work to really think about how I could be contributing to the field in my own way. Definitely a valuable lesson here.
Back to my initial fears about what our project will actually be, I’m looking at Lisa Rhody’s ProjectLab, in particular the section on audience: “You are an audience.” I am part of the audience. What do I want to build and use? I’ve tried to think about care and how we can use this project to care for the dead, but I don’t want to forget about care for the living–and for the living people trying to create it. What do I want? After being cooped up in a studio apartment for almost a year, I want something FUN. I want a tool that can build meaning, but is also something that is fun to use. And I want to have fun creating it.
[This entry was originally posted to DHUM 70002 Digital Humanities: Methods and Practices (Spring 2021) in Personal Blogs and tagged mapping cemeteries, Personal Blog on February 23, 2021.]
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