Final Story Idea

What? Human-interest
Who? Carmen, Michael, Ethan and Chloe Guenther.
Where? Kansas City (Lee’s Summit)
How? Photo, audio and text.

Why?

A close friend of mine just had her second child this past Wednesday (February 10th) and had to somehow manage to still turn in several papers and a take home exam this she had for classes because she’s still in school.

At first I thought this would be a cliché, “student with a kid” story… but I thought about it within the context of the time, the circumstances and her age. She’s 21, living with her husband (Michael) in his parent’s refurnished basement, with (now) two babies, working and still in school.
Putting it into perspective- I think about how overwhelmed I get now just taking classes. Throw in two kids, a husband and a job and my life now starts to seem pretty basic. It’s also difficult to comprehend because we’re the same age, grew up in the same neighborhood, went to the same schools, were practically sisters- and now she’s years and years ahead of me. I haven’t even graduated college yet and she already had two children.

The most interesting part of this story is that they chose to go ahead and have a second child. Why not save up money and move to their own apartment or save up for a house? It was difficult enough to balance everything before- how is it going to work with a newborn baby? Their schedules will have to change, their finances will need to be rearranged and people say that a marriage is most strained when kids come into the picture- how does this play on a young couple’s relationship?

I think this story is different because it will give insight to a situation that may seem like something no young person would want, but it began as an accident and became a choice, then became a life.

Multimedia?

This story will make a great visual piece because the dynamics of a family are always fascinating- but this is an extremely young family. You’d see the relationship between Carmen and Michael (perhaps under times of duress), Ethan and his new baby sister, or each parent juggling one or both of the kids at the same time. I don’t expect this to be a happy-go-lucky, that’s-a-cute-baby, story. It will be as genuine and as real as I’m able to capture. I already have a ton of potential image/photo ideas floating around in my head.

Audio would be a captivating with the baby, Ethan just starting to talk (make comprehendible sentences), dialogue between each family member, Michael’s parents in the house, natural sound around the house, etc.

Potential problems?
The only issue I can foresee would be having to go back to KC whenever I need to work with them. That could potentially be every weekend. However, I live nearby. I also think about the effects that my presence will have on them- they’ll be stressed and tired and probably not always in the best of moods, but that’s what will make the story truthful.


[LR]
for Electronic Photojournalism at Mizzou