Autoethnographical research, though interesting and satisfying to conduct, presents a challenge to graduate students who are required to engage in data analysis to meet the needs of their degree. This article tells the collaborative story of how one such student balanced her academic, methodological, ethical, and personal imperatives and developed the notion of "motif" as a beginning point for the effective interpretation of autoethnographical stories. Each motif in this research consisted of a collective story, vignette, art, and literature review. (Contains 2 notes.)