I've Been Meaning to Tell You

Mik Emerson

Project Description

For this project, I traveled across the US from Sacramento to Boston to interview and document the Chinese American adoptee experience through personal narrations of archival photographs and investigations of memory and identity. I then wrote, edited, designed, and printed a book to present my findings.

What Form will your Final Project Take?

Self-printed book

Who was supporting you in your work?

Lori Grinker helped mentor me through this project. The capstone grant helped reimburse my travels and the printing of the physical book.

Project Themes:

Research, Creative, Social Justice

How has this project has been impactful or transformative?

In multiple interviews with adoptees, it was their first time articulating their experience growing up with this slashed identity. Having the opportunity to speak with them helped me open up personally about my own experience, and it inspired me to further seek out these conversations because of the freeing nature of speaking yourself and being heard.

What would you do differently?

I would advise trying to get the funds to do a project like this as soon as possible so that you can plan your project accordingly. There was times I took emergency money out of savings to travel for this project with only the hope that I could be reimbursed, and this definitely impacted my confidence in booking travel and accommodation, leaving me with smaller timeframes to work. Get a reasonable schedule down for your project ASAP!

How was the experience connected to your work?

As a Journalism + Design major this project took my entire experience in this major and gave me a platform to show what I learned. It features photo editing, photography, audio recording, book design, interviewing, reporting, writing, editing, and publishing.

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