Project by: Georgina Barnhill (10th Grade)
Project Advisor: Candace Cunard
Student(s)’s Advisor(s): Kara Luce

TRIMESTER 2 PROJECT UPDATE

In this honors project I wanted explore the genre of creative writing and write poetry, short stories, personal essays and drama. I love writing, but a lot of the time in school we have few chances to do creative writing so I wanted to spend more time learning different types of writing and create a portfolio.

PROMPT 1:
ways to get 3 different moods.
nostalgia, happy and growing up

There are photos of families laughing and embracing one another, the people remind me of the space that they use to take up. The absence of them are like the wine bottle opened and left on the counter next to the sink with empty mugs and used up tea bags, left alone as if someone is waiting for them to clean themselves. The smiling photos of kids with reindeer antlers on top of there head, they all have matching pajamas yet one boy stands out like a dark spot in a sea of water colors. We are all smiling in these photos, but I still look at them as if they were a childhood home being sold, I wish I could remember the moment, the moment I smiled.

There are drawings as well of stick figures, giant flowers and strangely colored box houses with the words “I love you mama” written in letters of different shapes and angles, so colorful that they stand out in the plain kitchen. The smiles of the people in the photos all seem so young and full of life and those smiles never disappear even after time goes by. The message on the purple bell stating my resolution to “read more book considering I don’t read many books”, making my daym like a funny tease from a crush.

I barely recognize myself. Starting on top of a pair of shoulders, to a scooter with my hand in the air like superman, to running around with the two people I will always see as teenagers. First its black and white, then sitting on a couch with sport jerseys of different colors. When you look at the board as a whole, all you can see is a moné impressions painting, or a garden with a million flowers, you use to visit every summer. It all looks like one splash of color. When you take a  closer look, you see a married couple you recognize but will never remember a wedding, a baby with your nose, your hair, your eyes but you don’t remember the camera in front of you. The photos remind me of and wish I could see through the eyes of the child and go back to the days when you could barely hold your head up. But I know, one day I will look back at a picture that at this time I would know when and where she was, and wish I could see through her eyes.

Read – Robert Browning, My Last Duchess

• Time – impression painting – zooming in and out
  • Explore different moods when zoomed in
  • Growing up – transforming through each picture
• More concrete images

Pronouns – do you want it to be a you – or just and I she

Rewrite the essay in a poem form:

There are photos of families laughing and embracing one another
I barely recognize myself
all you can see is a moné impressions painting
I stand back to see the full picture,
There’s a big explosion of color
The faces remind me of food placed perfectly on the counter
In the order of greens, grains and proteins
Spotless

When you zoom into each picture
You see each mark
Each brush stroke like the carelessness of a child frosting a cupcake
the people in the photos remind me of the space that they use to take up.
The absence of them
are like the wine bottle opened and left on the counter
next to the sink with empty mugs and used up tea bags,
left alone as if someone is waiting for them to clean themselves.
We are all smiling in these photos
I still look at them as if they were a childhood home being sold.

There are drawings as well of stick figures,
giant flowers and
strangely colored box houses with the words “I love you mama”
written in letters of different shapes and angles,
so colorful that they stand out in the plain kitchen.
There a reminder of time when life was like
The subtle plants growing on the windowsill
Every step it takes in growing
A rush of excitement and eagerness fills the spectator
Like on that very second the stem
Will become a the flower in front of my eyes

The one picture that catches my eyes
a baby
with my nose, my hair, my eyes
I don’t remember the camera in front of me.
The dusty black and white smile
Of a plumped cheek girl
Is like the walking into a clean and empty kitchen,
No tea bags, no eray of food, no smiles of those you love,
The longing for a stain on the glistening counter
The sounds of music filled with regretful memories
A woman, in a white dress,
Dancing from store, to pot, to bowl
In one swift motion,
Like a ghost in my mind
I wish I could see through the eyes of the child
and go back to when the woman would disappear into the spices
But I know, one day I will look back at a picture that at this time
I will know when and where she was,
and wish I could see through her eyes.  

PROMPT 2:
Power of verbs – Burning the Old Year by Naomi Shihab NYE

Read some poems – think about the way poets use verbs I like

• The emotional power of verbs

Write about a time when you realized when you changed your mind about something important – what is something that you use to believe and now don’t or use to not to and now do.

A person or conversation or experience that challenged you to change your mind or make up your mind

Discovered something new that is important – poem or person or author who changed your life

Identity is just Burns and Mud

I have always felt like you need to put yourself into a category.
Uncover your identity
illustrate who you are to society.
Labels gives people tranquility,
but to me it makes my mind rumble

It’s like a game of tug of war
Constantly throwing your body back and forth
Heaving connected to one idea that there must be a winner
A long time goes by and you start losing hope
You will forever be grasping to this rope until time runs out
Till finally, you grind your feet into the ground bite your lip
Praying as you lean your body
The enemy, the problem you have stuck in your brain
Slips and tumbles into the earth

Somehow after you’ve won the game
And you finally think it’s over
You still have burns on your palms
Mud on your knees
And muscles that have tensed into a gear grinding
It’s not a win, its an end to a game you didn’t want to play
You wanted to watch while you stay clean
Soon, you get dragged back into the game of two rivals on one rope
And play until you settle
for burned hands and muddy knees and a new identity

PROMPT 3:
https://genius.com/Sarah-kay-and-phil-kaye-when-love-arrives-annotated
write a poem based off of another poem – think about the style in which they use metaphors

Friendship

We are suppose to know what friendship looks like

When I saw friendship for the first time
Friendship had a navy tunik, white sneakers and long black hair

Friendship understood when I winked and stuck out my tongue

Friendship played guitar and wrote songs about me
Only sharing their voice with my ears

Friendship laughed at my jokes
and  is entertained by anything

Friendship loves there body and tells me to love mine
Friendship braids my hair when it’s in my face

Friendship would walk me home because I was afraid of the dark

would sit with me when I cried
I would sit with friendship when it cried

Friendship forgave my selfishness
And I forgave friendships mistakes

I knew friendship was always there
Even when I didn’t talk to friendship everyday
Or treasure the laughter of before

Even though friendship was across manhattan rather than across the classroom
I knew friendship was there

Friendship would blow a kiss
and dance to my music
Taking my hand
And pulling the anxiety out of me
Freeing my feet to move
Discovering what I love to do

Friendship isn’t always stable

Friendship hated my sarcasm
Friendship wanted to stay out till two
But my curfew was eleven

Soon our weekly calls turned into monthly
Soon our sleepovers started when we met up as the sun rose
Soon I got mad at friendship

Mad at the world even if it wasn’t friendship’s fault
Friendship never texted back

Friendship trusted me
And I broke friendships trust

The glares,
the everlasting three grey dots on a blinding screen
Promising closure but vanishing with the light  

I felt friendship disappearing
So I lied
I thought the truth would only erase it more

The selfishness friendship hated
Was coming back

Friendship figure out my storm behind a sunny smile

And it blew out the light

Friendship is different now
Maybe because friendship sees me different now

Friendship doesn’t share their favorite songs with me anymore
Friendship doesn’t look me in the eyes

Friendship doesn’t borrow my clothes
Or do my eyeshadow with a perfect edge of black eyeliner
Making me a new person

Friendship took away the red heart in there phone

Friendship cut her hair
Friendship got rid of the lyrics that made me smile

Friendship doesn’t want to hear me pleading, because my mouth only speaks guilt

I’m falling and friendship isn’t there anymore

Friendship lost trust
I took a part of friendship away with the light of there smile

Friendship may never forgive me

Friendship doesn’t want to forgive me

And friendship shouldn’t

Friendship should tilt her head
And kiss goodbye

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ORIGINAL PROPOSAL

Please write a description of the project you are proposing. Why do you want to take this on, and what do you hope to learn?

This honors project explore a genre of creative writing like poetry, short stories, personal essays and drama. I love writing but a lot of the time in school we have few chances to do creative writing but I would love to spend more time learning different types of writing and create a portfolio.

Critical thinking, creativity, citizenship and courage are essential LREI learning values. Explain how you’ll draw on at least one of these values to complete your proposed project?

Creativity because I express myself through my writing and it is a way for me to write down any ideas I have and being able to share it.

What is your proposed outcome? How will you be able to demonstrate successful completion of this Project? How do you plan to share your learnings with the larger LREI community (e.g., exhibit of work, poster of learnings, performance, etc.)?

I want to make a portfolio and as I have discussed with Candace who agreed to be my mentor I am aiming to complete at least 7 pieces, it depends on how long I work on them for but I will have a full portfolio of writing. I can share and read my pieces with he community.

Please provide a general outline that indicates your work plan for the trimester? What are some of the key project benchmarks (i.e., goals that will help to ensure that you finish the project)?

I will meet Candace every week at Thursday during x-block and show her a new piece of writing where she can provide helpful feedback. We will also discuss different types of genres and find example pieces to learn from.

When do you plan on meeting?
Every Thursday at x-block