After working with my mom to collect the images I needed, I began creating each spread separately. I didn’t create these spreads in a numerical order, instead I decided to outline which lines of my poem I wanted to have their own spreads within my book and I designed each spread based on when the visuals became more clear and thought out in my head per section.

One challenge I had while creating the layout for each spread was deciding where to include illustration. My project began with equal illustration and photography, but as I continued my project, I made the decision to lean more into a scrapbook feel with illustration scattered throughout. I really wanted each page to be different and unique, to symbolize how life frequently changes. This made me struggle even more as to where I could fit in illustration, and I contemplated a few times scrapping it entirely. But I pressed on with my original vision and came to a happy medium.

I overcame this challenge by thinking of a way to connect each page with a common theme, no matter how different they were systematically or stylistically. The through-line of my project was to include something about myself on every page, whether that me symbolic, illustrated imagery or blatant photos of myself. In the end, the patterns of illustration, photography, collage, color, and poetry unify each spread to convey a single narrative.