A Matter of Subjects

     In a series of 4, I believe I have figured out 2 of the other 3 subjects I'd be basing the other episodes in the docu-series off. Diversity, being one of the main themes my docu-series is meant to embody, led me to look for people different than my mother. The differences were both general and specific. First and foremost, I searched for candidates who immigrated from somewhere other than South America. I aimed for a difference in age, gender, and current location as well. The more specific qualifications I wanted included whether a person was a citizen or not, level of education, current and past employment, and aspirations. The two people I have approached have both been different than my other in more than one of the characteristics I mentioned above. I also wanted to depict a different message with each episode under the greater message of humanizing immigrants. My mother is a single, working mom who's life consists of me and our dog. These individuals don't fit this profile even one bit. 
     The first person I will make a biography for is my girlfriend Sarah. I think it's important to establish her relationship with me to clarify that there will be no bias given to her whatsoever. I believe she is unique as an immigrant and brings perspective to the piece. Sarah Romestant is an 18 year-old college student at FSU who was born in Venezeula, studied in France for the majority of her primary schooling, moved to Colombia for what we in the US refer to as middle school, and finally moved to South Florida for the entirety of high school. She has experience being an immigrant not only in the US, but in two other countries as well. Sarah is currently studying civil engineering and waiting for her citizenship application to be approved. Although not fully undocumented, Sarah doesn't have the privilege of participating in things such as voting. This brief description is what I would base my official website biography off of. In comparison, my mother is much older, a mother of 2, has her citizenship, is employed, and has lived in Colombia for the majority of her life with the exception of the last 18 years and the year she lived in Houston to give birth to my brother Carlos in 1987. 
     The second person I will make a biography for is technically still undecided. I contacted my friend Anish in search for his help since I know his family is from India. I approached him not knowing if he himself was an immigrant and hoping he or someone close in his family was, only to find out that he was born here. However, he mentioned that both his parents immigrated here from India before he was born and he would be more than willing to talk about their journey as well as his own experience connecting with both American and Indian culture. The original plan would have been to focus on a single person, however, focusing on a couple who is still, to this day, together and both of immigrant status would bring even more diversity in demographic to the docu-series. I don't have enough information to create a mini biography for them yet. When Anish mentioned talking about his own experience, I got a brilliant idea too. I believe Anish's parents can both speak English well enough that they wouldn't require subtitles in their hypothetical episode. BUT..... it would be, to simply put it, REALLY cool to have Anish be the narrator for their episode in the same way I'm the narrator for my mom's episode. Narration is a primary characteristic of documentaries, so I think every single episode regardless of how articulate the subject may be in English should include a narrator. The idea Anish sparked went beyond just his narration. Ideally, the subjects' episodes would be narrated by a family member close to them. In Sarah's case, I would like either of her parents to narrate her episode since she is an only child and they are the two family members closest to her. 
     In conclusion, I have found who I would like 2 other hypothetical subjects for the docu-series! Finding these subjects will make the website making process much easier the sooner I can finalize my choices. I am currently writing up my "pitch" to one of my debate camp instructors who has worked with me since the beginning of my sophomore year. His name is Yaw and he is a college professor/debate sponsor in California who moved here from Nigeria when he was younger. He is also an awesome poet and an even cooler individual, so I look forward to speaking to him in the coming week to see if he's willing to collaborate with me on this project. On another note, expect a post tomorrow with the questions I'll be asking my mom, a hopeful projection of how the excerpt will be organized, and the information I need from my subjects.