I was tasked with creating a short photo-based story based on a identity-related topic of my choosing. I chose to explore the identity of a raccoon, trying to answer the question "what makes a raccoon a raccoon?". 

Raccoons are noble creatures. They aren't wasteful like we are. They go through strife every day to care for their offspring. But when we think of raccoons, we often think of disgusting, dangerous pests that poke around in our trash. We rarely think of raccoons as individuals except in the event of tragedy.

This particular story tells the story of a mother raccoon who is hit by a car. We begin at the end of her story because this is the first time we would think to consider her identity. The story recounts identity-defining events in reverse order. It examines aspects of our raccoon's existence that defined who she was: her children, the trash heaps she used as a food source and her conflict with humans. The photo story ends with a near-complete image of our raccoon, both literally and figuratively. It should be noted that aspects of our raccoon's identity shown are biased toward how humans generally perceive raccoons (i.e. if our raccoon created this photo story, she would tell it differently).

Overall the layouts are very simplistic as to not take anything away from the images themselves. Three images are included on the front and back cover to tell smaller parts of the overarching story. The front cover directly relates to the story's title while the back cover is intended to look like a candle to reflect the solemn subject matter of the story.

The text on page 1 is taken from the start of the book The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel, which is largely based on identity and follows a similar but infinitely more detailed narrative arc to this photo story.

The quote on the back cover is from the Marvel character Rocket, who is likely the most recognizable raccoon in pop culture.