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Christopher Mulholland
WR 13300
Erin McLaughlin
September 11 2015
Audio Narrative Reflection
When we were first given this assignment, I had no clue what I was going to write about.
We had been talking about identity and humor and the impact of narrative and other forms of
rhetoric on society, and all of these thoughts were jumbling around in my head when we started
our first free-writing exercise. Professor McLaughlin asked all kinds of questions that jumped
around from topic to topic and I tried to focus on my object, which was my ID card. I wrote
about how I felt that it represented much of my identity, and I would be devastated if I lost it. It
gets me into the dining hall and my dorm, my new home, as well as providing proof that I am a
student herethat I belong at Notre Dame. However, looking over it and re-listening to the
assignment prompt that night, I had another idea. I wanted to make a story full of description and
humor that I would be able to relate to a deeper, more meaningful message. A certain party I had
for my birthday several years ago came to mind, so I set to work. The words flew onto the page,
and I had a substantial chunk of it done in less than an hour. With my first draft, I aimed to
capture the story in a way that put the reader in the eyes of 11-year-old me. I included ample
descriptions and over-exaggerations that described this birthday party as the coolest event in
history, because to a young kid it was just that.
The next day I visited professor McLaughlin during office hours and had her listen to my
essay. My main concern was that it was just a story and the reader would not be able to draw out
any concrete meaning behind it, but she explained that there was a lot that the story contained.

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The description and organization of the story presented it in a way that made a statement about
boyhood and imagination. What made the party so cool to these kids? Why is it that so many
young boys dream of fighting in the army at some point in their childhood? Perhaps it was the
chance to use a gun. Perhaps it made them feel closer to each other as friends, even if they didnt
really realize it at the time. Or maybe it was the idolization of the American soldier, a hero to any
young boy. All these things were wrapped up in my story of the airsoft battle.
With this in mind, I continued the narrative, maintaining the epic tone and the wild
imagination. The battle didnt go as I had planned in the end, but young Chris discovered
something about friendship. With the last paragraph I sort of took a step back as the storyteller as
the boys looked around at each other and what they had shared that day. They realized that their
imaginations had taken them beyond the yard and into the movies and stories of the army that
they loved so much. When they returned, they saw how they had grown so much closer as friend
after this shared experience.
With the story done, it was time to edit. I did not end up changing very much at all. I
added some more details about the setting, took out some excessive descriptions where I had
gotten carried away, and with this done, I timed myself and crossed my fingers. It came out to
around 4:50, and I heaved a sigh of relief. There was not much that I could take out at all.
During the in class peer review, I was able to determine whether or not the reader was
understanding the intended message. It turned out that my purpose was pretty clear. I added a
few more references to the military to emphasize the point that young boys dream of being a
soldier.
With that done, I was just about ready to record. I reserved a sound booth in the library
and recorded it with the app we were recommended to use. I took one full take and several takes

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of specific parts that I felt were weak. I edited the audio clips on Movie Maker and then moved it
to Garage Band to add a little music. I found some unlicensed patriotic music and I added it to
the scene at the end when the boys look back on where their imaginations had brought them.
All in all, I feel pretty good bout my narrative. My voice sounded pretty clear on the
recording, and I had a few minor slip ups but none that I deemed worthy of a retake. My biggest
concerns are still that the meaning behind the hilarious story is not as clear as it could have been,
but after the peer review I am a little more confident about that.