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The audio essay was probably my favorite project this semester, partly because I learned how to effectively use an audio program that I have never used before and partly because I got to share a personal experience of mine that has made a huge influence in my career path and overall the person that I have become. Until this class, I have never been "techy," or in other words, never good at working with technology. In fact, a major reason why I chose to take this class was because I was eager to learn more about technology and how to tie in technology with literature. Seeing how our world is advancing in technology every day has given me the desire to seek out new computer skills and I am so happy this class has allowed me to learn so much about different computer programs. For this project, learning how to use Audacity was a little tricky at first. I spent a couple of hours just simply figuring out how all the cool tools and effects worked with the program before I actually started recording my piece. Once I learned how to use the software, I started outlining my audio essay. I was first inspired by Steph Ceraso's piece, "A Tale of Two Soundscapes." Her story of living in two different places immediately made me think of my own experience living in Atlanta, Georgia and my hometown of Chapel Hill, NC. That led me to think about my overall transfer experience from Emory University to UNC-Chapel Hill and I thought that sharing this story to others would not only be fun, but also hopefully beneficial for my listeners. It wasn't until after I transferred schools that I realized how common it was for college students to transfer. In fact, during that time when I was debating the thought in my head, I kept thinking that transferring was something frowned upon and that nobody ever transferred. However, once I realized that a lot of students went through the same feelings and emotions I experienced, I thought this audio essay could really show other students it's okay to feel afraid. It's okay to feel uncertain about your life. In fact, it's these times of uncertainty where you can really learn and grow and figure out your passions. My final message I wanted to get across to listeners was really to follow your bliss and listen to your heart. No matter how cheesy that may sound, this transfer experience has really taught me that this statement is 100% true. Being born and raised in Chapel Hill, I have always been a Tar Heel fan and I knew that I would be happier there. I could picture myself there for the next 3 years, whereas I could not do the same for Emory. I followed my gut and couldn't be happier here at Carolina. 

Now, back to the actual project... I discuss a lot of my revisions in the Audio Essay Revision Walk-Through video, but overall my revisions involved changes in both content and technicality. Since my transfer story is the bulk of the piece, I tried to use my poem as more of a hook into my story. I added another soundtrack piece and included an introduction about the power of literature and sound acting as a trigger to memories. I also had a lot of challenges with balancing out the volume of the different audio clips when overlapping. Resolving this just involved lots of trial and error and listening attentively to ensure that one audio clip does not mask the other. Another challenge was using the most fitting parts of songs/soundtracks. This involved specifically trimming the audio at just the right time to ensure both a smooth transition or compatibility with the other audio.