The Enemy Within

Enjoy :)

Final Thoughts

Word Count: 519

I have learned a lot in this class this semester. The first thing that this semester taught me was how to create my own blog and blog posts. I never knew that I would ever be posting stuff in my own blog let alone make a blog ever in my life. My social anxiety would never have let me do this all on my own. This class really pushed my limits and it made me express myself more than I ever thought I would for other people to read and possibly enjoy. I never thought anyone would be interested in what I had to say in the blog posts but I was clearly wrong. I learned that everyone has a story and it deserves to be told, because once you’re gone there’s no one who can tell your story as perfectly and genuinely as yourself.

            I have also learned how immersive and fun it can be to listen to podcasts and make podcasts myself. I’m a person who loves playing video games watching movies and tv shows. I never knew a podcast; something with no imagery would be so enjoyable. Great dialogue and sound effects can really bring a story to life. This is why I was so excited to create my own podcast. It was both a fun and a tedious experience but overall, I learned that making a podcast is not easy. Trying to make a compelling story whilst trying to sound genuine in the dialogue was a lot of work and I still have much to learn. I am definitely interested in making another podcast in the summer this time with friends just for fun if they are willing to do it with me.

            Lastly, I learned a myriad of things from making this video project. I learned about all the several types of camera shots I could use and I learned that people who make videos really put in a lot of work. Everything that you see in the video must have a meaning and has to relate to what you are speaking about. There should be no image in a video where it’s not being used to describe some purpose. I thought making my video project would be  simple task but it turned out to be much more difficult than creating a podcast. In a podcast you can let the listener imagine the scene taking place but when you create a video you are creating that scene, and it must be perfect. Finding the correct images for your video must be one of the hardest things a video maker must go through. Despite all of this it was a pleasure creating my own video. I again never thought I would be exposing myself like this for other people to watch and judge but once again I did just that. I feel like I have gained better control over my social anxiety throughout this semester because of this class. Using the blog posts, podcasts and the video project I was able to let go and express myself in a way I never could in person.

Storyboard

Storyboard by Giovanni Sabartes on Scribd

The Start

First two minutes of video project.

Free Write

Word Count: 820

Free Write:

 My interpretation of the definition: 1. Anxiety Disorder- uncontrollable fear and nervousness.

                           2. Social Anxiety – the inability to communicate with others in a positive manner.

                           3.Obstacle- Something that gets in your way during your lifetime. It can range from mildly difficult to extremely difficult.

                           4.Freedom- A moment of pure happiness and excitement; restrictions and limitations are not present physically nor mentally.

                           5. Sorrow- A feeling of overwhelming sadness; difficult to stop.

                           6. Confidence- the ability to be sure of yourself and let others know you are not afraid to be you.

Lists: 1. Inability to sleep

2. Loss of confidence

3. Trust issues

4. Heart racing 24/7

5.Gratitude

6. Self-awareness

7. Flux between caring for others and only caring for myself. Ex: Pre- med to make up (I’ll talk more about this in the video)

Description: I had 5 minutes to talk to her before the 1^st period bell rang. I had known her for over a year now and I wanted her to know my true feelings towards her. As I approached her locker I saw her there. The look on her face was overwhelming me as I walked closer. She smiled and said, “Hey what’s up?” I could smell the perfume forcing its way into my nostrils as I tried to come up with words to say to her. I couldn’t speak. My stomach turned into a knot and after a loud and heavy breath I did a complete 360 degrees turn and walked way nervously.

For scenes I’m going to talk about what may be in scenes 4 and 5 in the video. In the previous blog post, I talked about scenes 1- 3.

Scenes:

Scene 4:

Sound Effects: I don’t know yet

Pictures: Doctor and patient, picture of judgmental action, and terrified face, handshake, job interview, cashier, classroom, build up

Dialogue:        This scene is about social anxiety disorder. Many individuals who have an anxiety disorder can also have social anxiety disorder. Doctors can diagnose if you have social anxiety disorder when they ask you questions and see how much it affects your daily life. For me it definitely does. The first thing people with social anxiety disorder fear the most is being judged by others. The judgment of other terrifies to a point where we can’t function properly around others. We become self-conscious every time we socially interact, and even moments before when we know we are about to socially interact due to an unavoidable situation.

Yes, I despise meeting new people. Meeting new people for a person with social anxiety disorder is dreadful. You panic at the fear of this new person judging you straight away. It’s absolutely terrifying to me how everyday social interactions can make me feel like this. Simple things such as meeting new people, a job interview, talking to your crush, being called on in class, or having to talk to the cashier in supermarket or convenience store is a challenge for people like us.  Even doing normal things in front of people like eating your lunch or snack, or drinking a beverage in front of others or using a public restroom also results in fear and uncontrollable anxiety. I am afraid that I will be humiliated, judged, or rejected. It seems like a very dumb thing to be afraid about put people with social anxiety have very minimal control over these fears. I even get angry and frustrated with myself when these situations occur, but it eventually happens again sooner or later.

The fear that people with social anxiety disorder have in social situations is so strong that they feel it is beyond their ability to control. Taking back control is simply out of the question.  As a result, it gets in the way of performing well at school, and work. For my situation it’s just school because I have been afraid to work at a real job my entire life.  When we know that something socially heavy is going to happen in a few weeks’ time we dread on these things and worry about them right until the moment they finally happen. The buildup is the worst part. I like most others with this illness (I hate calling it that but it’s what it is) end up staying away from places or events where I think they might have to do something that will embarrass me. This disorder also causes performance anxiety. This is when you the feel physical symptoms of anxiety in situations like presentations for class, playing a friendly match of soccer with friends or attempting to dance at parties. I have promised myself to seek treatment this summer because I don’t want this illness to deny me the chance to reach my full potential. Freshman year of college really taught me that in order for me to succeed I can’t keep this hidden anymore and I need to find a solution.

Scene 5: TBA

             

Anxiety Rough draft

Word Count: 673

Scene 1:

 Sound effects: (Indistinct whispers and voices all around)  

Picture: Blurry screen of people walking around and talking.

Dialogue: Voices. There are voices everywhere. Our daily lives are filled with voices. Voices that comfort us, voices that hurt us, and voices that distract us from our everyday lives. The source of these voices come from beings that people with social anxiety fear the most. People. Unfortunately, this is something that I struggle with through my everyday life. This social anxiety that I have is a result of having an anxiety disorder. Many people will say that everyone deals with anxiety throughout their everyday lives, but this… this is something much worse. Let me explain…

Scene 2:

Sound effects: (Some type of music that fits with the tone of my explanation)

Pictures: Exam, Deadline, someone freaking out, Picture of the sun and moon and a clock signifying “all the time”, frustration face, a fleeting object, emotions trapped in a cell, Calendar signifying weeks and months

Dialogue: Usually when people feel anxious it’s because an important event is coming up like an exam, a deadline, etc. But when you have an anxiety disorder you feel this anxiousness pretty much all the time. It’s very frustrating when you are feeling anxious and you can’t spot the source of the stress. An anxiety disorder also produces intense and excessive emotional responses. Many individuals may be on edge before an exam, but a person with an anxiety disorder might be anxious several weeks beforehand, and even afterwards. This something that I deal with all the time. I and many other with an anxiety disorder will experience intense symptoms right before, during, and after the exam. Also, normal anxiety is fleeting, while an anxiety disorder is ongoing and the feelings can last weeks or months.

Scene 3:

Sound effects: Somber & intense music

Pictures: confusion face, someone acting dizzy and lightheaded, sweat dripping of hands, heavy breathing, and heart pounding fast, pounding headache, bathroom, shut mouth, reality disconnection, negative thoughts, losing confidence

Dialogue: This next thing, I hate talking about, because not many people relate to it or understand it, but for you to try and understand it I must explain it. I’m talking about the physical and psychological symptoms of having an anxiety disorder. Excessive anxiety and the feeling of being worried aren’t the only symptoms that comes with having an anxiety disorder. There are many physical symptoms like dizziness, light-headedness, sweating, trembling, heart pounding, headaches and nausea. You feel like you can’t breathe, can’t talk or must go to the bathroom frequently. Just trying to utter out simple phrases is hard because your body is trembling during these moments. I’m affected by these symptoms every day, some days just some of the symptoms, and somedays all of these things happen at once. The scariest part is that people with anxiety disorder also report feeling detachment or disconnection from reality. They feel like they can’t formulate their thoughts and have trouble concentrating. This especially happens whenever I try studying or taking a test. It’s just shocking to see just how much harder it is trying to concentrate with all these symptoms happening to me. At the same time, I experience a race of negative thoughts that is just flooding my brain. Many people with anxiety disorder have different times of the day when these negative thoughts rush into their head, but for me it happens in the morning, and it makes it harder to continue sleeping and get out of bed. The biggest consequence of this… is losing your confidence.

Scene 4: In this this I shall talk about my social anxiety and how it relates to the anxiety disorder

Scene 5: In this final scene I want to talk about the benefits, and good things that arouse from having an anxiety disorder. I don’t want the viewer to feel bad for me, or hopeless. I want to come up with a way to end this on a semi good note despite the negativity of the situation.

Anxiety: The Battle Within

VIDEO TITLE (working title): Anxiety: The Battle Within


THEME/CONCEPT: The concept of the video will focus on the struggles with anxiety and how to combat anxiety.

GENRE: Nonfiction


SYNOPSIS/FREE-WRITE:  The purpose of this video is to inform others who unaware of what people with anxiety/ social anxiety go through every day. The video will be based on a real person that goes through these struggles and there will be examples when this person experiences anxiety. This person will recount past memories of dealing with social anxiety and how in the present time he tries his best to  combat this anxiety. Advice will be given on how to deal with social anxiety.

VIDEO STYLE (what does it look like? What other examples are similar? What is your style?): The style and theme will start off very hopeful then quickly become dark, and I want to end things somewhat hopeful, so other people can be inspired that things can be different.



BREAKDOWN OF POSSIBLE SCENES:
The way I want to make this work is that everything will start off great showing examples of this person having fun with his friends and playing outdoors, but then it will show that on the inside this person is panicking.

The scenes will contain many instances of this person trying to live through their daily lives only to be overburdened by anxiety.

The person will give his output on how he tries to battle this anxiety, but he will let the viewers know it doesn't always work out.

One of the ending scenes could be this person telling the audience to be mindful when meeting new people and even to the people that you already know like your friends and family members because you never who's going through this emotions every day. Some people may even realize that they have anxiety by watching this video. It will end with advice and a warning to seek help if needed because the anxiety you may be dealing with can evolve to something  much worse like depression or suicidal thoughts.

TARGET AUDIENCE (who are you making the video for): This video can be for anyone but I feel like it can relate more to people who are 17 and older because those are individuals who are most affected by social anxiety.




LENGTH OF VIDEO:
5-10 minutes.


OBJECTIVES: The objective is to make people aware that there are people out there who experience these terrible emotions. The other objective is to convince people who have social anxiety disorder to seek help and to not be afraid to speak to someone you trust about the matter. 




SETTING(S): The setting will be in various places in present time.

Anxiety: The Battle For Your Life

Word Count: 679

I want to make a video about social anxiety among young adults. The purpose of the video would be to entertain, but also to inspire people to try and break free from the pressures of social anxiety. The video would start off in a party where this guy (Lets call him David) got invited by his friends to go to the party and David really did not want to go because of his social anxiety but his friends convince him anyways. When he gets to the party he sees people drinking, eating, and having fun. David is surrounded by all these people and he is having an anxiety attack. The video zooms in David’s body and it shows his heart beating fast and his brain is also beating fast. There is also a knot being tied inside his stomach because of how anxious he is. The video also zooms in to David’s palms which can be seen that they are very sweaty and the sweat is even dripping down to the ground. The video could also show an inner monologue happening inside David’s head. He could be saying to himself “Oh my god, what am I doing here”, “They’re probably thinking I’m an idiot and a loser”, “They know I’m super anxious”, “I’m definitely going to humiliate myself.” Then David starts telling himself that he needs to get out of the party as quick as he can or hide in one of the bathrooms. All he knows is that he cannot stay there. David then runs to the bathroom and splashes water on his face. He keeps telling himself “I’m not in danger, I’m not in danger.” Then David begins to think about dangerous situations and events that he perceives as real danger, and these scenarios can be shown in the video. He starts thinking about getting robbed at gunpoint, a house burning down with people inside of it, and many people experiencing car accidents. “I am not in anyone one of these scenarios” David repeats to himself. “I’m safe, I’m not in danger, I’m safe” he repeats to himself repeatedly. Keep in mind that all this is happening in the video while some very tense music plays in the background. So, after a while of David convincing himself that he is in safe situation the tense music stops playing and everything goes silent. The video zooms back in David’s body and his heart and brain is not beating fast anymore, and the knot in his stomach is being untied. There is now a calming music playing in the background and David goes back into the party and relaxes, and he even starts talking to some people. Then there is a rewind moment when David enters the bathroom. In this alternative scene he starts taking drugs by swallowing these weird looking pills. Then I would do another alternative scene where David decides to go to the bathroom and he can’t convince himself that he is safe. Then in the video there is a voice speaking out which talks about how people who have social anxiety, often lead them to depression, which leads to drugs, and suicidal thoughts. The voice then speaks about how imagining yourself in a safe place can make the social anxiety go away at least temporarily. If you imagine yourself in a safe space it’s going to be okay because someone with social anxiety believes that they are in a state of danger. They can either fight it, run away, or hide from this danger, but ultimately a choice must be made. The video then concludes with the voice telling everyone that these are the types of things that happen to people with social anxiety daily. Every day they must remind themselves that they are in no danger, but sometimes they fail in doing this, and there are people that fail more than others. That’s why people decide to do drugs, drink alcohol, hurt themselves, and in worst case scenarios end their lives. The root of depression begins from social anxiety and it can be prevented.

Shane Parker

Shane Parker’s Character Sketch

Age: 23

Appearance: Shane has black hair with blue eyes. He has big eyebrows, and is very toned and tall.

Occupation: Financial Analyst; training to become a Senior Financial Analyst

Income: $65,287.32

Class: Middle Class

Occupation of parents: Resided in Colorado, but they died

Family members: None

Education: College graduate with bachelors in business administration; training to become a  Senior Financial Analyst

Place of residence: New York City, New York

Place of birth: Colorado

Religion: Catholic

Ethnic Background: From the United States

Hobbies: Enjoys fixing computers, playing video games, exercising, swimming, running

Pets: No pets

Talents: Mathematics, data analysis, accounting, computer languages, marketing, excellent communication skills, great decision maker, Teamwork skills

Dislikes: People with plutomania (abnormal desire for wealth), and people who chew loudly

Eccentric Habits: No eccentric habits

Phobias: Arachnophobia, Acrophobia (fear of heights), Trypanophobia(fear of injections)

Favorite foods: Steak, Chicken, Pizza, Pancakes, Bacon, Cheeseburgers, Peanut butter, Salmon, French fries, Ice cream, Tuna, Eggs, Mangos

Manner of dress: Likes to wear casual clothes always, but when it gets down to business he encourages himself to wear suits.

Favorite color: Turquoise

Sound of voice: Deep soothing voice

Aspirations: Shane’s goal is to just live a normal life with his future family with a steady good paying job, and he wants to be sure his future children have the same opportunity for advancement and growth like he did.

Favorite place: A New York city coffee shop where he hangs out with some of his friends

Number of friends: A handful

Drinking habits: Likes do drink at parties and gatherings but is not a drunk

Smoking habits/ Drug habits: Sometimes smokes marijuana to unwind, but is not addicted to it

Preferences – music: Alternative music, Pop, R&B, Hip Hop, and House music

Entertainment: Movies, Tv shows, and Gaming

How does this character react under stress?

Shane performs well under stress when it comes to his career, but when it comes to personal issues he does not react well under stress. He starts raising his voice at people.

What does this character do to celebrate?

Whenever Shane accomplishes something he likes to keep it to himself, but if his friends know about it he celebrates with them.

How does he express anger and Pleasure?

You know Shane is angry when he can’t control the volume of his voice. Whenever Shane feels good he’ll let you know that he is.

What is his greatest secret?

His greatest secret is that he keeps his brother private in all conversations with other people. He does not want to acknowledge his brother’s existence.

What is his greatest desire?

Shane’s greatest desire is to become a Senior financial analyst, have a wife and three kids, 2 dogs, and own a big house with a big pool. He also wishes for his future kids to be humble like him.

What is his ugliest fault?

Shane’s greatest fault is being short tempered. He is also prone to being dishonest since he lies all the time about his brother.

What symbol might you use to represent this character?

I would symbolize Shane as a lion. Shane is strong, courageous, and he is a leader in is work. The lions roar can also represent Shane’s need to get angry and yell when he is stressed out.

Podcast 1 Script

Giovanni Sabartes and Jimmy Cabo

Word Count: 794

SCENE 1: New York City (inside and outside coffee shop)

Shane: Yeah I’ll get the usual, some milk with two sugars.

SOUND: Coffee being made, people chattering in the background

Shane:( grabs coffee) Thanks. See you tomorrow (Walks out the coffee shop, and sees Richard)

SOUND: door opening, and NYC noises

Richard: Hello, brother.

Shane: What are you doing here? I thought I told you I never want to see your face again.

Richard: Shane please, you know I didn’t mean to say that about them. It was 3 years ago for chrissakes! When are you going to forgive me?

Shane: Shut up Richard! I know you were just waiting for the moment for them to die. All you cared about was taking over their company. Just because they treated you differently than me doesn’t give you the right to just dismiss them like that. Now tell me.. how did you find me and why are you here?

Richard: Are really asking me that… do you how easy it is to track people down nowadays. It wasn’t hard to figure out that you pass by this coffee shop everyday as part of your morning routine.

Shane: Oh so now you’ve been spying on me?

Richard: That’s not the point bro. I came here because I want you to be part of the company. I’ve moved it over here to N.Y.C hoping that I could get you onboard. We could really use someone like you.

Sound: Car pulls up

Shane: I gotta go.  Don’t try and find me again.

Richard: C’mon Shane give me a break...Well, there he goes.

Richard: Man. How’d it get this bad?

Flashback Sound

SCENE 2: Funeral

Sound: In the background, people crying, sniffling

Richard: (chuckling under his breath) Is that our cousin Dolores bawling in the corner over there. Geez, when was the last time you saw her.

Shane: (whispering) Shut up Richard.

Richard: I’m just saying, how much did mom and dad mean to her? I mean, I must have been like 7 the last time we heard from her.

Shane: Shhh! It’s a funeral, people cry.

Richard: Well if you’re gonna cry like that, you should have been in contact with them within a year of them dropping dead.

Shane: Richard. Our Parents just died. Our Mother and Father are buried in that ground right at this very moment!

Richard: I know. Speaking of which, when do you wanna sit down and talk about their stuff.

Shane: Their stuff?

Richard: Yeah like the house, their savings, the business.

Shane: You want to talk about their stuff right now? In the middle of their funeral?

Richard: Yeah why not? So I was thinking we’d become partners, and completely reboot the business.  Oh man, it's gonna be great.  I was also thin...

Shane: (yelling) GO TO HELL RICHARD!!

Shane storms out, gasps and chatter begin to fill the room.

SCENE 3: Shane's apartment

Sound: knocking on door

Shane: Richard? What are you doing here?

Richard: Please, Shane, just let me talk for…

Shane: I don’t want to listen to you Richard!  After what you pulled at the funeral, there’s no way I’m talking to you right now.

Richard: Dude it wasn’t even that big of a deal I was just looking out for the company man. What the hell is your problem?

Shane: (Yelling) My problem?! My problem is that you never gave a shit about our parents! My problem is that you were so pissed when we were younger  mom and dad would pay more attention to me than to you! Well Richard it isn’t my fault that you were born first. You of all people should know that life doesn’t always go as planned!

Richard: You know what Shane your right. (Yelling) I of all people should know! You have no idea how annoying it was to have all my achievements in highschool and  my future goals being looked upon as garbage while mom and dad praised you for wanting to go to college and learn something of your own. I was always there helping mom and dad at work while you sat in a university slacking off. And after all that they didn’t give a single damn about all the blood sweat and tears I put in to help them. So you know what screw you and screw our parents. I’m running this company now and you're not gonna stop me.

Shane: Ok Richard you can have it! Now get the hell out of my apartment right now or I swear I’ll do something I’ll later regret.

Richard:(steps out of apartment) Have a nice rest of your life Shane good luck graduating college.(sarcastically)

Shane: Yeah same to you. Looks like you’ll be needing more luck than me. (Slams the door)

-To be continued

"Like a Virgin"

As I grabbed my sweater to go to school I made sure to not forget my Walkman. It was a bright sunny Monday morning, and the weather still felt like it was summer. It seemed that it would take a long time for Winter to arrive. Today it was essential to bring my Walkman because today was the day that Madonna was going to release her new album “Like a Virgin.” My plan was to go to the store afterschool and purchase a cassette. When I arrived at school there were so many different emotions written across people’s faces. Not only did I see sadness and tiredness in many people, but there were some individuals who I saw constantly smiling. It was very unusual to see smiles during the first period of class on a Monday. Some of those smiles were indeed because of the excitement about the new album being released this afternoon. The smiles I saw quickly turned into anxiousness, and I got to stare into many of my peers’ eyes to see the impatience nature within them. I looked forward to the release of the album, but I wasn’t too crazy about it. In fact, I was more anxious about having an exam on a Monday morning. When it came around to the last period lunch I was on my way to the cafeteria so relieved to finally feed the monster that was growling inside my stomach. Some of my friends and I grabbed our lunches, sat down onto the uncomfortable cafeteria seats, and before I knew it my ears exploded with the yelling of others. Everyone was yelling out that there was someone right outside the school that was selling cassettes for the new album. My friends and I knew this would be our best shot in hearing the album before anyone else does so we agreed that at least one of us had to buy it. Soon after we quickly ran outside and pushed through a crowd of people to buy the cassette. I was the one who managed to buy one of the cassettes among my group of friends so we walked back into the building and started listening to the album. After all of us heard the song that was named after the album “Like a Virgin” everyone was really confused as to the meaning of the song. Some people believed that it was just Madonna singing about an experienced man giving his love to her, but others like me believed otherwise. There was a very deep emotional message I believe she was trying to sing about. I gathered up a large crowd of people and gave them my interpretation. I told them “Let me tell you what ‘Like a Virgin’ is about…”  “It's about a girl who's experiencing something she's never felt before, like when she had sex for the first time” I said. “Something eventful in her life that's as big or bigger than when she lost her virginity. So, in this case it’s most likely love, happiness, and a feeling of being complete. Feelings that she's never felt with anyone else before.” After that tiny speech there was laughter among many of my peers. I could see that some people agreed with me, but mostly everyone was just coming up with their own nonsensical interpretation of the song. After a couple minutes a couple students came up to me and said, “No Let me tell you what ‘Like a Virgin’ is about…” When I heard that I regretted stating my interpretation of the song as I so desperately did not want to hear another one.

The Secret Of The Cheeses

Word Count: 604

Chris’s had a secret that he did not realize it was a secret until he went to his cousin’s birthday party. Chris was 9 years old when he went to this birthday party, and it was supposed to be a very fun and exciting day for him.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be one of the worst days of Chris’s life. When he entered his cousins house he was swarmed by other guests with smiles on their faces. Chris being the shy and introvert that he is awkwardly greeted everyone and sat down on the nice leather sofa that was awaiting him in the living room. When he sat down he sunk into the sofas comfortable surface, and started playing on his phone. Many of the party guests were family members that he never met before, and he hated meeting new people, because he could not come up with any interesting conversation. Chris just wanted to sit on the sofa on his phone, until it was time for dinner. A few hours passed and Chris started to smell cheese coming from the kitchen. This smell was so strong in fact Chris felt like the stench attacked his nose forced its way up his nostrils. For the other guests they were delighted at the smell of the cheese, and they began to sit down next to the dining table. Chris then realized that he hasn’t told anyone there that he can’t stand the smell or the taste of cheese. Once he saw a fountain of cheese and bread delivered to the dining table he was frozen in shock. “This can’t be all there is for dinner, right?” he thought to himself. Chris was so worried about being embarrassed to ask anyone if this was all there was for dinner, and at that point in his life he did not know the meaning behind the word appetizer, so to act respectful and not seem awkward he started eating the bread and cheese. He was disgusted at every single bite he took, but he closed his eyes, chewed, and swallowed away. He was surprised but relived that no one noticed his reluctances when eating the cheese. Not an hour had passed when Chris started to feel the effects in his stomach. He had to run to the guest bathroom and barf, but he couldn’t reach the toilet in time so he barfed all over the bathroom floor. One of Chris’s family members came in the bathroom and her eyes widened as she saw the horror before her. She quickly sprinted out the bathroom pinching her nose in disgust as the stench was overpowering the bathroom. Soon after the stench started to overpower the whole house, and the father of the birthday boy was put in charge of cleaning up my mess. The father was the only one that saw Chris’s disgust of the cheese, but he didn’t bother to say anything to him because he thought Chris knew the real food would come out later. The father asked him confusingly “Why did you eat the cheese Chris, it was just an appetizer?” Chris replied weakly still recovering from the pain his stomach “I didn’t know.” A while had passed and Chris’s parents arrived to take him home. Before Chris left he saw everyone at the party with joyful faces eating from the vast selection of food that was placed on the dinner table. Chris walked down the steps out of the house and into his mother’s car with grief glued on his face as he wondered how such a silly secret could cause him so much harm.

The Fate of Clara

The Emancipation Approximation (Scene #18), 1999-2000

Word Count: 685

Clara woke up that morning feeling sick. She had been coming down with a cold. She hoped Emma would let her rest today, because she had performed many duties for her the day before. She was even rewarded with some clean sheets made from wool to help her keep warm in the harsh winter that had just arrived. Clara was afraid to go out once again into the outside world as she was not only tired from doing all her chores, but she did not want her illness to worsen as the day progressed. Unfortunately for Clara she heard Emma call her downstairs. Emma exclaimed “Clara get down here, you were supposed to do this laundry hours ago!” Clara feared Emma’s wrath more than she feared the frigid winter morning, so she got dressed in the blink of an eye and wobbled down the stairs, sneezing throughout her journey down the long-spiraled staircase. Once Emma came face to face with Clara she saw the bags under her eyes, and the snot dripping from her nostrils. She then asked, “What’s wrong Clara are you not feeling well”. Clara replied “No Missus I’m not I believe I’m coming down with a cold or maybe even the flu! I have not been getting much sleep lately, and I have been shivering throughout the night.” Emma stated, “That’s very unfortunate Clara I thought those blankets I gave you would keep you nice and warm. Anyways, I need you to take care of this laundry for me, I’m sure the lakes aren’t frozen yet, so it should be easy to wash them, besides my husband should be back in a couple days with some medicine for our son Charlie, so I’ll just give you some of his.” Clara was puzzled that Emma was treating her so nice today, but of course she agreed to do Emma’s laundry; her choices were either agreement or a harsh punishment from her Master when he would return. 
Clara put on all the layers of clothing that she could, grabbed all the napkins for her runny nose as she could, grabbed the laundry basket and hurried to the lake. Her goal was to avoid being outside for too long, and wash the clothes quickly as she did not want to feel even worse tonight. When she arrived at the lake, she was glad to not see the water frozen. It even put a smile on her face. When she started washing the clothes her smirk was quickly wiped off her face as the ice-cold water attacked her hands. She shrieked as she believed she was being stabbed repeatedly with a thousand knives. That same shriek attracted the attention to of two young white males, who came up to her and started harassing her for that “loud disgusting noise” as they labeled it. As Clara begged to the two men “please just leave me be, I’m doing my work” She was kicked into the lake by the two men and they took off running. The entire laundry basket was also pushed into the lake but she managed to grab it and get it out of the lake. Clara immediately used all the energy she had left in her body to pull herself up out of the lake, grab the basket and run indoors. She felt the wind hit her in every part of her body, as the dripping wet clothes made her feel extremely cold. She ran with basket rested on her shoulders; every step she took felt heavier. She felt the weight of the world at her shoulders and before she could reach Emma’s front porch the weight became too much for her and she dropped down to her knees in front of the house with her snot now covering half her face. She witnessed Emma through the front window walking slowly to the front door with her husband trailing behind her. As she stared into her master hands, there was no medicine that awaited her, but only agony. As the front door opened ever so slowly she prayed for the day to finally end.

The best middle school gym experience imaginable

Word Count: 560

Jonathan remembers middle school gym class, and it was a horrendous experience for him. He was an overweight and awkward kid who just couldn’t tolerate sports. Most kids looked forward to the fun and action filled gym class, but he always looked forward to the exciting adventures in math class. But of course, Jonathan dared not reveal that to any student in his vicinity. There was one particular day when the gym teacher made Jonathan and his classmates play soccer, and it was one of the most painful days of his life, both mentally and physically. Jonathan was at a point in his life where playing sports gave him anxiety and when the gym teacher announced that his class was going to play soccer, Jonathan’s heart skipped a beat, and then it started to race. He felt his pupils widen and his body felt like it was about hit the gym floor. Jonathan’s anxiety was kicking in and he could feel the sweat dripping of his palms and hitting the floor as he panicked. One thing that Jonathan did well was keeping this anxiety bottled up inside of him without revealing to anyone just how much fear he was in. Jonathan was put as a defender in the team, and he could sense the worry and disappointment of his other teammates because of his lack of athleticism and confidence. He struggled throughout the entire gym period in keeping up with other students, and he struggled to communicate with other students when attempting to pass the ball to them.  By the end of the match he was put as goalie, for some reason fate decided that his gym teacher pick him to be goalie for penalty shots. Jonathan sensed that it was the gym teachers plan in the first place to try and break him out of his shell, but he was still upset at the whole idea. Jonathan’s face grew serious when his opponent kicked the ball towards his goal, and when the ball flew towards Jonathan the muscles in his hands and arms failed to remain stiff to block the ball, and he realized how foolishly he underestimated the force of his opponent’s kick. Consequently, when the ball hit Jonathan’s wrist, he felt the most intense pain he has ever felt until that point in his life. He yelled from the top of his lungs and drowned his surrounding area in tears as he dropped down to the floor on his knees. Jonathan panicked when he realized he couldn't move his hand and this gave way to more tears. The gym teacher helped Jonathan up and Jonathan struggled step by step in agony to get to the nurse’s office. He was just focused on the pain on his wrist and he couldn't think about anything else. The nurse’s diagnosis concluded that Jonathan’s wrist was indeed fractured, and she called his mom so she could pick him up from school and bring him to the hospital. Jonathan desperately waited in a small wooden chair while his mom frantically hurried to get to the school. Finally, after half an hour of sitting down in the cold and cramped room that was the nurse's office Jonathan's mom had finally arrived.

So yeah Jonathan had a great middle school gym experience.

Now please enjoy his high quality artistic representations of what happened that day.