Thanh Lu

Oral History Interview Reflection:

One of the things I really enjoy doing is learning about people and their stories. Perhaps that was why I was so drawn, overly excited, and had expected to learn about organizing and conducting an interview. I had likewise created a mindset inside my brain that I was destined to gain a unique personal reflection and some insight into how and what it was like in my interviewee’s line of work and life during the current pandemic. So, for me, I really enjoyed this oral history interview process. When I interviewed, I tried so hard to keep the conversation relaxed and easy. Maybe that was an aspect I think was the most challenging. Normally, the interviewee can get super nervous and stressed if they have a real interview, especially for their job. To be honest, I really like to keep asking my mom a bunch of questions in real life for no reason. Consequently, that makes her get mad at me as I am always curious. For that reason, I would say that I liked being an interviewer the most and it was extremely enjoyable to me. Even though I could not get to know how the virus started, specifically, was it created by humans, or it was originally from one of the animals. At least I know how people feel and try to get over the struggles and obstacles the current pandemic created. Moreover, I realized that keep calm and keep positive thinking during this pandemic are the most important things people need to do because we are all facing it together. Maybe it now seems to be overwhelming and scary, and it makes us anxious. I used to think this virus will never end and go away. Nevertheless, I changed my mind, people always say nothing lasts forever, so now I think this pandemic will disappear someday. I have learned and now I want to say that people who are experiencing this difficult circumstance, should stay optimistic, be grateful for the good times, and be accepting of the bad times.

If my instructor uses this kind of assignment in future FYS sections, I still would not offer a suggestion that makes changes to this assignment. I believe all the information was clearly explained and assignments were divided step by step. That is also why I think the final project was interesting and was not overwhelming at all. On top of that, if I was writing a letter of advice to new FYS students about this project, I would tell them to carefully read and follow the instructions that the professor gives before they begin to conduct. Besides, they should manage their time wisely so that they can complete all parts of the assignment. They should not miss and skip any parts. Last but not least, they ought to practice several times before diving headlong into interviewing someone.

Oral History Interview StoryCorps link: https://archive.storycorps.org/interviews/fys-interview-about-the-theme-of-pandemic-with-nathan-blascak-by-thanh-lu/?fbclid=IwAR1dSpXwtEYj8YnjKw1TiZTYpRSDMsTbq_XBtns21eBjCGhqSNvBzptVzz8