Running head: DIGITAL STORY AND ANALYTIC REFELCTION

Digital Story and Analytic Reflection

Lauren Swanson
Northern Illinois University
CAHE 522

DIGITAL STORY AND ANALYTIC REFELCTION

Digital Story and Analytic Reflection

Reflecting and storytelling is a part of communicating. It can describe changes a person
has made to his or her life and allows individuals to create meaning of situations that have
occurred. Reflecting and storytelling allows an individual to explain a situation or instance that
impacted them and their life. In my story, I talked about how making a decision for myself
sparked me to stand up to members of my family. However, the digital story skimmed the surface
of the situation. It wasnt until I began to understand different theories that applied to my
situation that I was able to reflect on circumstances that changed my education as well as how
situations impacted my life.
Once I began reflecting on different moments in my life, I realized that there are certain
instances and memories that hard a larger impact on me than I originally thought. From the time
I was graduating high school, my family and my former teachers were telling me what they think
would be good for me for the future. As a graduating high school senior, I looked to my family
and teachers to guidance and trusted their opinions over my own. But coming from a loud and
outspoken Italian family, getting away from others opinions might be one of the hardest things
to do. My family always had an idea of what I should do, where I should go, and to figure out
what career would be suitable for a girl. With this paper, I will explain the story that helped me
make decisions for myself and the outcomes from the story. Then I will connect the story to
Abes, Jones, and McEwens Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity. and Baxter Magoldas
Theory of Self-Authorship.
My Story
I always thought that I was an independent person, and that I made decisions for myself without
being influenced by other people and their opinions. It wasnt until the spring semester junior
year that I realized that I have been listening to peoples opinions more than I originally thought.
I was the teacher-certification program at Northern Illinois University (NIU) that I didnt like

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and that I dreaded going to. I was beginning to feel defeated, and my academic advisor was
unable to help me and also gave me incorrect information. After months of frustration I decided
that I did not want to continue with that program because it was not worth the frustration.
However, I didnt want to disappoint my family by telling them I didnt want to continue it
without a backup plan.
Going into my senior year I was talking with my cousin about dropping the teachercertification program and not knowing what I was going to do when I graduated in May. I told
her I felt like I was having a quarter-life crisis, and that the only plan I had for my future would
be to go to Europe for a vacation and actually see the places Ive studied for so many years.
Eventually, I went to my academic advisor and told him that I was dropping the program. When I
was asked what I would be doing instead, I responded anything but this. Later that day, I went
to Career Services on campus and met with a career counselor. She explained the different
careers that history majors typically pursue after graduation. None of them were appealing or
what I could see myself doing once I graduated. I ended up venting to my boss later that day at
work and he explained the Counseling, Adult and Higher Education (CAHE) program at NIU.
He was the first person to tell me that this might be a good program for me to look into, and to
reach out to the graduate school and CAHE advisor for more information.
Taking his advice, I researched more about student affairs and talked to members of the
graduate school and CAHE program at NIU. I finally found a program that I enjoyed and was
excited to learn about. I was in the process of applying to different graduate schools when I got a
phone call from my cousin saying she found a package for a European vacation in May where
we would travel to six cities in two weeks. Before I even gave her an answer she said Lauren,
you never make decisions for yourself. This is all up to you. Do you want to go? And before I
knew it I said yes, without being influence by others around me.
Outcome of my Story

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Surprisingly, having the opportunity to go on a simple vacation helped me gain the confidence to
tell my family that I wasnt going to be a teacher anymore. It also gave me the confidence to also
tell them that I was going to graduate school as well. However, no one in my family held back
their opinion about me going to graduate school. The only support I got was from my mom, who
said she was proud of me for making these decisions on my own.
As weird as this sounds, Im thankful for that moment of panic and being able to figure
out a path that better suited me. If it wasnt for that, I wouldnt have been able to find a program
that fit me or have been able to travel to different countries Ive studied about. But most
important, I wouldnt have been able to confidently make decisions for my life without worrying
about the influences around me.
Analysis using the Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity
In Reconceptualizing the Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity, Elisa Abes, Susan Jones, and
Marylu McEwen discuss the different forms of meaning making (formulaic, transitional, and
foundational) to illustrate how meaning-making interacts with students multiple social identities
(2007, p. 1). These forms range from being relatively simple to becoming more complex. With
the Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity contains three different parts that show the
interaction of context and outside influences, meaning making, and self-identity perceptions.
These forms of identity are constructed by both individual and institutional levels, and change
with evolving contexts and relationships (Abes et al, 2007, p.2). In the model, the identity
dimension is portrayed as intersecting rings around a core to signify that no dimension should
be understood singularly, but it can be understood in the relation to other dimensions, (Abes et
al, 2007, p. 4). At the center of the rings is a core sense of the self, which represents values and
personal attributes that are close to an individual. Surrounding the core is the context that
influences the individual.

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In my story, the core represents my desire to be more independent and to make my own
choices. The contextual influences that are coming towards the core and the dimensions of
identity would be my family and former teachers, gender norms and stereotypes, my cultural
influences, and the influences from my academic advisor. These influences were external to my
meaning-making because they were different relationships that were defining and shaping my
identity. My self-perceptions of multiple identity dimensions are my culture, gender,
independence, social class, and my professional identity. The external influences pass through
the meaning-making filter differently depending on the complexity of the relationship and the
importance in my identity dimension.
In the beginning, my meaning-making filter would be very formulaic, which according to
Abes et al, is when there are minimal filters used in meaning-making, allowing the external
factors as well as the self-perceptions being closely connected (2007, p. 9). With this meaningmaking filter being very loose, it would be considered simpler because I was not making my own
meaning of the identity dimensions around me. As my story continued, I began to realize that the
influences from my family and former teachers were not what I wanted. There was a tension in
my identity, and I began to realize the limitations of listening to stereotypes and traditional
gender roles, and I began to want to challenge other peoples expectations of what my identity
should be (Abes et al, 2007, p. 10). This type of meaning-making is more transitional because I
still relied on formulaic meaning-making, but I was beginning to challenge the influences. The
filter for my transitional meaning-making would be more complex because some of the external
influences would be reshaped and redefined.
Finally, once I created my own identity without being influenced by the external contexts
around me. Although I would be approaching foundational meaning-making, I was still able to
create more complex filters and saw the relationship between the context and perception of my

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identity (Abes et al, 2007, p. 11). This is seen in my story near the end where I decided to make
decisions for myself despite the negative opinions and comments from my family, friends, and
some of my peers. By ignoring the negative opinions, my meaning-making filter became smaller
and my own personal meaning shaped the context coming in through the filter.
Baxter Magoldas Theory of Self-Authorship
Marcia Baxter Magoldas Theory of Self-Authorship is focused on students development during
the individuals twenties. This also includes values exploration, making sense of information
gained about the world in previous years, determining the path one will take, and taking the steps
along that path, (Evans et al, 2010, p. 183-184). Students during this type of exploration seek to
answer three questions: Who am I? How do I know? and How do I want to construct
relationships with others? (Evans et al, 2010, p. 184). Many students believe that they go on a
path of self-authorship when they graduate, but those students do not realize that they have to
make their own decisions throughout their college career.
The path to self-authorship occurs in four phases: following formulas, crossroads,
becoming the author of ones life, and internal foundation. Following formulas is the first phase
because it occurs in young adults that have been following the plans laid out for them by external
authorities. These authority figures dictate when the student should do and how they should
accomplish goals set out for the student. The student then believes that these formulas are their
own ideas, and they allow external influences to define who they are (Evans et al, 2010, p. 184185). The second phase, crossroads, is the stage of a students development where he or she
realizes that the plans they have followed do not work well and that they need to create a new
plan. At the same time, the student begins to feel that have been defined by others and look to
create their own sense of self. For some students, following formulas can lead to a sense of
unhappiness and lack of fulfillment (Evans et al, 2010, p. 185). The third phase, becoming the
author of ones life, allows the student to stand up for his or her beliefs, in which the student

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feels more compelled to live out their new path (Evans et al, 2010, p. 186). The last phase,
internal foundation, is when young adults are successfully grounded in their self-determined
belief system. These individuals are also open to change and are not greatly influenced by
external influences (Baxter Magolda, 2004, p. 12).
In my story, I believe that I relate to Baxter Magoldas Theory of Self-Authorship. In my
story I can connect to each phase very well. In the first phase, following formulas, I state that I
listened more to my family and former teachers than to my own opinions. My family wanted me
to be a teacher, saying that I always wanted to be one and that my grandfather wanted me to be a
history teacher. They also pushed for me to attend NIU because it was a great school for future
teachers. My family believed that I would be successful being a teacher, and that it was a good
career for a woman to have. Once I got into college, I had a difficult time continuing to listen to
my parents and their ideas for my future when I was becoming unhappy and did not want to
follow their path for me.
The crossroads phase connects to my story because I wanted to make a change for the
rest of my college career after discovering the plans laid out for me by my family was not suited
for me. This was when I realized that being a teacher was not what I wanted to do. I felt
discouraged by the administrators of the teaching-certification program and felt as though a wall
was built preventing me from continuing the program. At this point, I began to see that I was
being told by others what I should do for my career and how I should go about doing it.
However, I was worried about telling my family and friends that I was going to stop the program
and look into graduate programs.
The third phase of self-authorship, becoming the author of ones life, connects to my
story when I spoke with my cousin about doing something for myself that the external influences
had no impact on my decision. It is also seen in my story when I had the confidence to apply to
different graduate schools, despite hearing the negative comments from different people in my

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life. This follows the third phase because I created my own path and my own beliefs. Not only
did I complete one by traveling around Europe, but I stood up for my decision, while realizing
that there is a strong possibility that my path could change in the future.
Finally, the fourth phase, internal foundation, occurs more toward the end of the story. By
being admitted into graduate school and finishing my first semester, I am more grounded in my
choice to attend and to not be a teacher, despite what people have said. I am open to changing my
career goals once I begin working, and Im finally not worried about what will happen when I
graduate. Being able to be in the Inderal foundation phase has allowed me to take on new
directions in my personal life, as well as my future career.
Conclusion
By having the courage to change my future career path and personal relationships, I am now
more comfortable thinking about the future that is ahead of me, and I have stopped listening to
the opinions of those who do not support me. Any individual can experience the need for a
meaning-making filter or the phase of being in a crossroads in their life. It is important to
remember that these developmental stages are a part of a life-long journey, and do not occur in a
day. I believe that by learning the ways students develop throughout their education is important
to understand. Not only will it help a student develop a pathway to mastering their own identity,
but it can help an individual reflecting on their own experiences find a new path to selfauthorship, or helping them make meaning of their multiple identities.

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References
Abes, E. S., Jones, S. R., & McEwen, M. K. (2007). Reconceptualizing the Model of Multiple
Dimensions of Identity: The role of meaning-making capacity in the construction of
multiple identities. Journal of College Student Development, 48, 1-22.
Baxter Magolda, M. B. (2004). Evolution of a constructivist conceptualization of
epistemological reflection. Educational Psychologist, 39, 31-42.
Baxter Magolda, M. B. (2009). The activity of meaning making: A holistic perspective on
development. Journal of College Student Development, 50(6), 621-639.
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010). Student
development in college: Theory, research, and practice. (2nd Edition) San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.