Nineteen-year-old me is practically sewn onto the airplane seat as I look out the oval-shaped window, gleaming with hues of green. My “Tanzania Journal” is clutched between my right hand as I think of ideal words to describe the tranquil exhilaration rushing through me. Two years later, this same feeling emerges as I arrive in Rabat, Morocco for the first time. Every moment became a chance to write; a chance to tell someone’s story.

 

As a Film and Media Studies major at UCSB, I became interested in the different narratives portrayed on screen. While many would pick up their cameras and lights, I reached for books like Edward Said’s Orientalism (1978) and Jack G. Shaheens’s Reel Bad Arabs (2001). Frustrated by harmful ideologies placed upon entire nations, I found power in listening to others’ voices. I began to ask myself how I could create new and authentic narratives. During my time in both the Gablers and Raab Writing Programs at UCSB, I recognized the power of writing and storytelling. Creative profiles became a tool to bridge my love for travel and writing while connecting people across countries and cultures. 

 

With a deep passion for global awareness, I pursued a minor in Professional Writing with an emphasis in Civic Engagement. During this time I became a Research Assistant for Professor Mona Damluji in the Film Department analyzing blackouts, heatwaves, and narratives of perpetual crisis in Iraq. My appreciation for culture, representation, and stories has seeped into all of my work. In the future, I aim to create a collection of profile stories that amplify the experiences of people worldwide who have been mischaracterized by constructed narratives of them. More than just simple excerpts of people’s lives, this collection is about making space for authenticity, connectivity, and empathy.