REFLECTION PARAGRAPH
As a consumer of creative things and as a creator of creative things, what is the role of storytelling, poetry, film, art, etc., in our society? How does it affect you personally?
In our diverse society, art means many things to different things. The broadest thing it is, is an escape. The world moves so quickly now, with technology and innovation. There are times when it all becomes too much. All types of art provide an escape from the daily troubles in our lives and act as a break from it all. When creating or consume creative things, whether it is nonfiction or not, it takes you to another place. It transports you to another place and perspective. Exploring something new is always exciting and can change the way you look at things. This is why art is also a learning tool. This doesn't just mean learning lessons for children, but adults have much to learn as well. People who are well off may not know the struggles of a young person growing up in a difficult setting, but can see it through a film. A teenager might not understand why their parents do some of the things they do. They can read a memoir and see the reasons parents react to things in a certain way. A lot of the time, art can teach you new things and let you feel for people who have lived different lives. All forms of art mean different things for every person. What some people may regard as unimportant, can be the thing a person needs to experience in order to change themself. Art is made for everyone, but what it means varies for every person.
​
Personally, I am very easily affected by art I associate songs/albums with times in my life frequently. I hear a random song, remember something sad, and- no matter the tempo of the song- I will associate it with a sad time or a bad feeling. When I was going through a rough move from Maryland (where I had lived my whole life) to Okinawa (a tiny island in Japan), reading and listening to music was my crutch. Art got me through difficult times, which is why I sstill have a very strong connection to it.
Within your portfolio, what pieces attest to your strengths and weaknesses?
I have always had strong opinions on just about every subject, which is why my op-ed about humans drinking milk was easy to write. This is also why most of my patriot pages were easy writes. Things I am passionate about are climate change and environmental preservation. This shows in my climate change Patriot Pages article and the protest poem "Fever". I wanted to be a journalist when I was in elementary school, which was another reason why I got really into the Patriot Pages article.
I have also always been self conscious about pouring feelings out on the paper, especially in the form of poems. The fear of being judged by people and the vulnerability of having it all out for people to see stopped my from really getting into the poem unit of Creative Writing. Many of my poems were mostly about describing things instead of describing how I felt about it. "11:35 in Brussels" could have been very emotional, because thinking about it makes me nostalgic. However, it was more 2-Dimensional and sounded stiffer than what could have been expected.
​
The odd combination of having strong opinions where I get emotionally attached to and the fear of being judged by some of my other feelings was very difficult to work with, but I learned a lot from it. I had to work through it and I am better for it.