ABOUT THE CLASS AND THE BOOK PRODUCTION PROCESS
written by the students of the class of 2019
Publishing a book with a large group of people was an extensive process. The beginning stages were simple. The first exercise we did was answer questions about the concept of social change and what it means to be a changemaker. This assignment was to get everyone thinking about their passions and how they wish to make a difference in their communities. Each person then chose a topic that they were passionate about. Our journey began with a class activity of brainstorming different issues in the realm of social change. This process was difficult for some. Grace proclaimed, "the biggest challenge [she] faced was figuring out what [her] call to action was going to be, and how [she] was going to connect [her] personal experiences to the greater public" . We tackled a new obstacle after deciding on topics to write about. We began the journey of finding ourselves.
First, we each wrote a piece called our Story of Self. This piece focused on individual passions and each person's journey. This was a complicated story to undertake. Looking within yourself and addressing your flaws and truths about your life can be scary. In the final stages of our Stories of Self, we began the process of writing our Story of Us. The goal of this piece was to decide who we are trying to empower and reach through our stories; hence,the ‘us’. The final component to our essay was the Story of Now. This, in essence, is our call to action — an urgent protest for what we want to change. Finally, we began linking all these stories together to culminate into our final essays. Another element of our class was being designated to separate teams for different aspects of the book. The testimonial team was lucky enough to document some thoughts and reactions from each student weekly.
In terms of the process of writing, a fellow student, Athena questioned, "is my story interesting to people who are not concerned about my story?" Being able to make your voice heard on a topic you care about can be difficult. Not everyone will feel the same way you do, but at the end of the day, you still want to make a change. Another aspect a student struggled with was staying consistent with who they were. Caitlin mentioned, “[she] struggled with keeping [her] voice throughout [her] piece while at the same time providing worthy facts about [her] cause." Many pieces went through this process, so maintaining one idea was tricky. Another concern was that we would be publishing this book for all eyes to see. Hana expressed hesitation about “finding the balance of how much personal information [she] should share by taking into consideration that other people, like [her] parents, will be able to read [her] story.” The last major theme that was consistent with each student was fluidity. Ella mentioned that "coherently organizing the pieces, that later could be built up from [her] personal story and transitioned into a broad and more encompassing narrative, while also calling my audience" was her greatest struggle. Maintaining a variety of different aspects in a piece of writing is complicated. Kelsey felt that she “struggled with editing because [she] felt like you could never truly be finished!” Overall, the class was challenging, but everyone was extremely dedicated and passionate.
Some students shared their thoughts on the reason behind enrolling in the course. One student stated that they "liked how it was unconventional and collaborative" (Elizabeth). A typical response to why students chose to take this course was the opportunity to collaborate and write a published book while in college. Another student mentioned how "being able to write a published book from a college course is an amazing novelty. [She] also want to be able to voice [her] opinion on social change" (Lily). When considering courses to take for the upcoming term Catherine reflected upon how unique this experience would be saying, “[She] saw this course as a challenging, creative, and impactful experience [she] would never experience in another course on campus.” As fellow blossoming change makers, we all wanted to be able to make a difference in the world, however small or large they may be.
In the process of writing this book, we hoped to defy expectations: to break norms. To make our voices heard. Some of the most potent testimonials recorded were about defying expectations and how each person defined them in their way. Sophia stated, "[She] aims to defy expectations by becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable. [She] aim to challenge societal norms and revisit traditional thought through critical thinking and analysis." Sophia's beliefs in societal norms pulled together many morals and ideas we as a class support. Another student, Marika, proclaimed that she "defies expectations by teaching [herself] to stay positive even when things might be getting tough. This can be circumstantial but [she] learned that when facing adversities sometimes the only way to overcome such difficulties is to stay positive rather than sulk and wonder why such things are happening."
As an all-female group writing a published book, we have a lot of hope for our work. Nancy's more significant dream was that the book would "land in the hands of a girl/woman who is eager to contribute to the change and overall goodness of the world.” We want to make a difference in this world. The purpose of this book is not to only write about our passions, but it is to put actions to words. Suleydi fully encompassed our vision. Her biggest hope "for the book is that it inspires people. Hoping it resonates with the readers in a way that makes them feel less alone and more inspired to enact change in their lives." Through this whole process, our purpose was to discuss pressing topics. To make a change. In reality, we are all changemakers, and you can become one too. We hope you enjoyed!
written by the students of the class of 2019
Publishing a book with a large group of people was an extensive process. The beginning stages were simple. The first exercise we did was answer questions about the concept of social change and what it means to be a changemaker. This assignment was to get everyone thinking about their passions and how they wish to make a difference in their communities. Each person then chose a topic that they were passionate about. Our journey began with a class activity of brainstorming different issues in the realm of social change. This process was difficult for some. Grace proclaimed, "the biggest challenge [she] faced was figuring out what [her] call to action was going to be, and how [she] was going to connect [her] personal experiences to the greater public" . We tackled a new obstacle after deciding on topics to write about. We began the journey of finding ourselves.
First, we each wrote a piece called our Story of Self. This piece focused on individual passions and each person's journey. This was a complicated story to undertake. Looking within yourself and addressing your flaws and truths about your life can be scary. In the final stages of our Stories of Self, we began the process of writing our Story of Us. The goal of this piece was to decide who we are trying to empower and reach through our stories; hence,the ‘us’. The final component to our essay was the Story of Now. This, in essence, is our call to action — an urgent protest for what we want to change. Finally, we began linking all these stories together to culminate into our final essays. Another element of our class was being designated to separate teams for different aspects of the book. The testimonial team was lucky enough to document some thoughts and reactions from each student weekly.
In terms of the process of writing, a fellow student, Athena questioned, "is my story interesting to people who are not concerned about my story?" Being able to make your voice heard on a topic you care about can be difficult. Not everyone will feel the same way you do, but at the end of the day, you still want to make a change. Another aspect a student struggled with was staying consistent with who they were. Caitlin mentioned, “[she] struggled with keeping [her] voice throughout [her] piece while at the same time providing worthy facts about [her] cause." Many pieces went through this process, so maintaining one idea was tricky. Another concern was that we would be publishing this book for all eyes to see. Hana expressed hesitation about “finding the balance of how much personal information [she] should share by taking into consideration that other people, like [her] parents, will be able to read [her] story.” The last major theme that was consistent with each student was fluidity. Ella mentioned that "coherently organizing the pieces, that later could be built up from [her] personal story and transitioned into a broad and more encompassing narrative, while also calling my audience" was her greatest struggle. Maintaining a variety of different aspects in a piece of writing is complicated. Kelsey felt that she “struggled with editing because [she] felt like you could never truly be finished!” Overall, the class was challenging, but everyone was extremely dedicated and passionate.
Some students shared their thoughts on the reason behind enrolling in the course. One student stated that they "liked how it was unconventional and collaborative" (Elizabeth). A typical response to why students chose to take this course was the opportunity to collaborate and write a published book while in college. Another student mentioned how "being able to write a published book from a college course is an amazing novelty. [She] also want to be able to voice [her] opinion on social change" (Lily). When considering courses to take for the upcoming term Catherine reflected upon how unique this experience would be saying, “[She] saw this course as a challenging, creative, and impactful experience [she] would never experience in another course on campus.” As fellow blossoming change makers, we all wanted to be able to make a difference in the world, however small or large they may be.
In the process of writing this book, we hoped to defy expectations: to break norms. To make our voices heard. Some of the most potent testimonials recorded were about defying expectations and how each person defined them in their way. Sophia stated, "[She] aims to defy expectations by becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable. [She] aim to challenge societal norms and revisit traditional thought through critical thinking and analysis." Sophia's beliefs in societal norms pulled together many morals and ideas we as a class support. Another student, Marika, proclaimed that she "defies expectations by teaching [herself] to stay positive even when things might be getting tough. This can be circumstantial but [she] learned that when facing adversities sometimes the only way to overcome such difficulties is to stay positive rather than sulk and wonder why such things are happening."
As an all-female group writing a published book, we have a lot of hope for our work. Nancy's more significant dream was that the book would "land in the hands of a girl/woman who is eager to contribute to the change and overall goodness of the world.” We want to make a difference in this world. The purpose of this book is not to only write about our passions, but it is to put actions to words. Suleydi fully encompassed our vision. Her biggest hope "for the book is that it inspires people. Hoping it resonates with the readers in a way that makes them feel less alone and more inspired to enact change in their lives." Through this whole process, our purpose was to discuss pressing topics. To make a change. In reality, we are all changemakers, and you can become one too. We hope you enjoyed!
UNION COLLEGE INSTAGRAM TAKE-OVER
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