Dec 05 2008
Lives Snipped to Bits: Erika’s Final Project
Throughout the semester I’ve been looking at the course material and wondering how it fits in my life. I think that applicability and relevance is important in the classes you take. Luckily for this class real life application was obvious to me.
The past year has not been an easy one; senior year of high school never is. Added to my senior year was a best friend with an eating disorder and extreme depression. Her attempted suicide added to the noxious mix. The stress and heartache of dealing with the situation turned every moment with her sour. While most students worried about prom, I worried about the cryptic texts I got from her every night asking me why life was worth the effort. My guide through all of this was my AP Lit teacher. Everyday he would talk with me, ask me how I was doing, and make sure I didn’t lose myself to this mess. I have decided, almost a year since this thing began, that my experiences with Dannica have both helped me grow and caused me to shrink back. I know about the joys in life and the little things and how you have to live everyday fully because things can change so quickly. I also know how sometimes you lose someone because you love them too much and want them to get better even though they don’t want to, how one night is all it takes to crumble ten years of friendship, and how someone doesn’t have to die in order for you to lose them.
My collage is simple, I know. I intended it to be that way. Everyone has stories of losing someone, whether it is a physical loss or just a growing apart. The simpleness of the piece allows it to be applicable to all. The newspaper it is made of also adds to this theme. Newspapers around the world all carry people’s tragic stories; newsprint is universal. Collage is a form that allows for a sense of generalness. Shapes can be detailed and specific, but they can also just be outlines. By leaving the details of a drawing or painting, this collage once again applies to almost everyone.
Inspired by Blue, I decided to look at loss specifically. Grief affects people differently. The way individuals cope with loss is unique to their situation. Families who lose children, and husbands and wives who lose their spouses are affected much the same, while people who lose their parents respond very differently. I know that my feelings were very conflicted and I went into a secretive world of my own in attempt to deal with my grief.
The scissors in the picture are the best way for me to express how I felt this last year. It was as if someone had cut my life into pieces and I couldn’t put it back together.