I chose to make my webcomic memoir about moving schools midway through 2nd grade. I chose this memory because I feel like it was one of the most important experiences of my life. If I had never transferred schools I definitely would never have become the person I am today. I didn't realize it at the time, but my old school was definitely not the right place for me, and I can't imagine what my life would've been like if I had stayed there while it was falling apart.

I didn't really feel the need to brainstorm ideas, I knew immediately what I wanted to do. The first thing I did was journal about my old school, trying to bring up as many memories of the transfer as possible. Then, I used a story arc graphic organizer to create the beginning, middle, and end of my story.  After that, I used a webcomic panel planner to map out what order my panels would be in, and what they would look like. The last thing I did was plan my dialogue for the narration. After all this, I began working on the comic.

To communicate tone and emotion, I tried to use a contrast of dark and light colors. At my old school, I used grayer colors, and made myself appear smaller. I did this to signify my loneliness, boredom, and feeling invisible. When I got to my new school, I used brighter colors to signify happiness and fun. In my silent panel, I chose to make only my eyes and tears visible. I did this to show the darkness of my room, but also the darkness I was feeling, and my anxiety at the thought of a new school.

I had to use a lot of words and narration in my story to describe how I felt. This is because I was trying to explain months of emotion in just 8 panels. I also had to go over the requirement of 6 panels to describe how I felt at my new school. To balance out all the words I used, I tried to make my panels as expressive as possible. For example, I physically made myself smaller to represent feelings of loneliness, even though I never literally say that I feel lonely. Additionally, I used a lot of thought bubbles so I didn't always have to say what everyone was feeling in the narration.

My memoir is inspired by the theme in Persepolis that your environment and parents greatly change whatever experience you have growing up. Without my parents pulling me out of school and putting me in a progressive school, I would have a very different experience today, and I don't know if it would be a good one. Just like Marji’s parents, my parents knew what was best for me, even if it made me upset.