I was so excited about my repurposed project that I must admit it was a little hard to keep up the momentum for the remediated project. I was mostly nervous, because I really had no idea where to start or what kind of new media I wanted to use. Instead of the usual problem of having too many ideas in my head, this time I had nothing.
I finally settled on doing a public service announcement about stopping the incorrect and hurtful usage of the words “faggot” and “gay,” but I didn’t real passionate about doing this. It was more just something that I figured I could complete on time. I came up with some good ideas for making a PSA after watching a few online, but I was also afraid to tackle iMovie. Upon sharing my ideas for a PSA with my workshop group, Linda asked if I was making a website. Although she had misunderstood my intentions for the project, it got me thinking. I realized the potential that making a website held, and I also realized that I was more excited about it in those few minutes than I had been in regards to making a video PSA.
Linda showed me the website of a pre-existing campaign, ThinkB4YouSpeak, and I knew what I needed to do. I decided to make a blog on WordPress, because I felt that adding entries to it would make it feel more authentic and “alive” than if it were just a stagnant website.
I realized that making this blog required more research than I had anticipated, but it was all very interesting. I found myself watching video clips of people talking about bullying and looking up news stories of some tragic consequences of that bullying. It was all very eye-opening, and it made me feel like I had made the right choice.
Making a blog that is accessible to anyone online made me much more conscious of what I was putting on it, because it really hit me that anyone could have access to it. I needed to be careful about what I was saying, and I needed to be confident in my ideas. This was a great experience, because so often our writing is sheltered by being confined to the comfort of a classroom or instructor.