…also that year…
Lived with Sal
to learn “homeowner skills”; to unintentionally detox from college; to learn about my allergies
Air-drummed “Free Bird” in full
which was done in one take, on video for proof, but took multiple takes to get it right (inasmuch as I could)
Bicycled 100 miles
after only training ~3 weeks, participating in the Tahoe Sierra Century as a gift to myself on the occasion of a birthday
alert: badass digital storyteller
⚠️
alert: badass digital storyteller ⚠️
alert: badass digital storyteller
⚠️
alert: badass digital storyteller ⚠️
2011 will not be known as the year that I began my career, but it will be known as the year that catalyzed my interest and tested the waters of a future career–however meandering and flowing its course would unfold.
Reluctantly, I joined Twitter in August of 2011. I began substitute teaching and teacher-assisting in elementary grades in Downtown Los Angeles when, halfway through the semester, I noticed the above call to action: seeking badass digital storyteller.
In that instant (much like I would find out nearly 10 years later) the mere naming of a thing–in this case a “badass digital storyteller” as a concept or job title–cleared a little bit of the post-grad haze and unknown, opening my eyes to a world that could open itself for me.
From the back of the van, shooting anything and everything to document my international adventure–even sleeping colleagues driving through mountain highways and Guatemalan countryside. Photo: Chris Battaglia
I boarded a midnight plane, bound for Guatemala the week before Thanksgiving, hardly a lick of understanding how I would fare in my first job out of college, feeling slightly out of my element. After nearly missing my connection in Atlanta, meeting my colleagues for fieldwork while racing between terminals and airport gates–camera and production gear tightly packed and bouncing heavily on my back and in-hand–we arrived in Guatemala.
To be sure, this was hardly a “job” in the fair and equitable sense now: it was a very brazen test undergone by the nonprofit to determine my abilities and if I might jive in their idea of what the role would accomplish. Fortunate for them, I was a “green,” newly-minted postgrad Film/Communications major emerging in the working world three years in the wake of 2008’s financial ruin.
Yet, happily and with some pride, I matched (or exceeded) expectations after my 2-week stint staying in in the Solola region of Guatemala’s interior, and was asked to join the team as Digital Storyteller Fellow in 2012.
Experiencing the rush and subtle wildness of riding in backs of pickup trucks through Guatemalan towns and countryside, nothing was ever static during that two-week trip. Photo by Alice Anleu.
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