Paper short abstract:

The paper gives an insight of the autobiographical collection that aims to capture, reflect and promote tradition of self-documentation in Latvia also allowing me to reflect about young folklorist role studying seemingly unconventional material and my unplanned journey as folklorist so far.

Paper long abstract:

At elementary school or gymnasium I had never been told about career choices in folklore studies, therefore in my mind it has never been an option. Choice to study at academia in bachelor's program called "Traditional Culture and Latvian Folklore" was more guided by intuition rather than serious consideration and therefore, what I knew about folklorists and their scientific interests, in my consciousness was visualized stereotypically - as old women with white scarves on their heads who only sing one folk song after another. During my studies, I found that folklore is a broad concept, which is well-connected with other humanities and social sciences, easily sharing research methods and theories. Parallel to my studies I began to work at the Archives of Latvian Folklore. Here I was given the opportunity to observe what research topics folklorists choose and to realize that the potential field for studies, again, goes wider. When I started to study anthropology, the field continued to expand further. Encouraged by the possibilities, in 2018 I joined the project team as assistant to study autobiographical materials. The core of the project was formed by historian, literary scholar and folklorist who all where passionate about their research interests and that's way were really inspiring. Who would think that folklorist can be easily interested in capturing, reflecting and promoting the tradition of self-documentation? This experience had given me an opportunity to reflect about role of the young folklorist studying seemingly unconventional material and my unplanned journey as folklorist so far.