A Little Closer to the Shore: A Creative Nonfiction Exploration on Faith and the Self

Oleh :
Najwa Indyra Putri - B0322053 - Fak. Ilmu Budaya

This thesis is a creative nonfiction in the form of vignette-style memoir. It explores themes of faith and the self through my experience from childhood to college life. The work talks about my journey about growing up misinterpreting religion as a source of fear. I experienced emotional wounds and a growing sense of detachment, not only from faith, but also from life itself. However, through moments of hardship, guilt, reflection, and exposure to the Islamic teachings, I slowly rebuilt myself and my relationship with Allah. My understanding about faith and the self changed as well. This work shows my healing journey as a slow process that is very human. It is filled with ups and downs, where I experienced distractions and setbacks. No matter what, I kept putting my effort to get better. This work is supported by theories of creative nonfiction, narrative identity, and Muhammad Iqbal’s theory of khudi, or the self. I used a reflective autoethnography approach, and used my fragmented memories and personal journals as the creative work’s main sources. This project mixes storytelling and reflection or commentary to show how personal experiences and spirituality can shape one’s inner world and self-understanding.