2019: A Zine on Trains, Travel, and Self-Reflection

2019 a zine on trains, travel, and self-reflection

BY SHANNON BOLAND

PART 1

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?

FASHION DESIGNER MERMAID

BALLERINA

LAWYER DOCTOR

?

ARTIST COMIC BOOK AUTHOR

SCIENTIST

I DONT KNOW

AGE 8

A WRITER??

MAYBE

AGE 11

ENGINEER?

MATH

I GUESS

ARTIST?

?????

AGE 14

AN ECONOMIST FOR A BIG COMPANY

OR THE FED

SOMETHING.... ....WITH MONEY

AGE 17

A CLASSICIST SCREENWRITER

YOU KNOW WHAT?

WHO THE F*** KNOWS

AGE 20

PART 2

WHAT DID YOU DO THIS SUMMER?

EXPLORED CAMBRIDGE WITH FRIENDS BUT ALSO EXPLORED THE CITY BY MYSELF

LAST SUMMER I SET A BUNCH OF GOALS FOR MYSELF BUT I ONLY FINISHED 1/3 OF THEM. SO THIS SUMMER I SET THE BAR REALLY REALLY LOW.

BUT NOW THAT THE SUMMER IS HALFWAY OVER I THINK ITS ACTUALLY BETTER TO DREAM BIG BIG BIG THAN TO UNDERESTIMATE MYSELF

THIS SUMMER I...

RODE THE TRAIN (A LOT!) FINALLY READ A BOOK IVE BEEN MEANING TO READ INVENDTED AN ICE CREAM TOUR STARTED A 5’ X 5’ OIL PAINTING FOUND A BUNCH OF OLD PHOTOGRAPHS WENT FULL MARIE KONDO AND REDID MY BEDROOM STARTED A FIRST DRAFT OF A SCREENPLAY TALKED TO AN OLD CLASSMATE SWAM IN THE OCEAN STARTED BOXING AGAIN FILLED A SKETCHBOOK MADE A ZINE LEARNED HOW TO MAKE EGGS BENEDICT GOT SOME FUNKY OUTFITS MADE NEW FRIENDS VISITED NEW PLACES ...AND THERE STILL TWO MONTHS LEFT

PART 3

WHAT DO YOU SEE IN THE MIRROR?

PART 4

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT BEFORE YOU GO TO SLEEP?

PART 5

WHO DO YOU WANT TO BE?

A) B) C) D) E)

MYSELF SOMEONE PAST ME WOULD BE PROUD OF A PERSON WHO IS NOT AFRAID TO FAIL A GODDAMN SUPERSTAR ALL OF THE ABOVE

What is a zine?

A zine (pronounced /zIn/ as in short for magazine) is a handmade magazine. This broad definition allows for a wide variety booklets, comics, magazines, and more to fall under the category of a zine. I have made zines before about road trips, bad poetry, and even one about frogs.

Of all the possibilities I thought of, I came to the conclusion that a zine best correlates with self-making and employability. A zine is focused - typically revolving around a specific topic or place or period of time. It’s also the best way to learn about bookmaking. Formed from ideas, doodles, and half-forgotten thoughts, a zine can be created seemingly from thin air. This zine displays my proficiency in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, and Adobe Indesign, but it also shows things such as my love for blind contours and sketches from trains that wouldn’t be on a so-called traditional resume. To me, self-making is about digging into the soul and finding what makes life worthwhile. Who was I three, five, ten years ago? Who am I now? These are questions I thought about while putting together this zine. 2019: A Zine on Trains, Travel, and Self-Reflection was creative exercise in memory, conscious reflection, and honesty. I worked on it as soon as I woke up and in between classes and before I went to sleep. I learned that self-reflection is not an epiphany or a miraculous breakthrough, it is a continual challenge to the status quo and complacency. Most of all, I hope to carry on this learned habit of self-observation and self-reflection as I continue to grow.