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Audio of poem is above.

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For the digital story project, I wanted to take the opportunity to write something that I’ve been meaning to for a long time. In grade school we had an assignment to write a poem. What I ended up writing was dark and strange, much unlike what my other classmates had written. Though most of the details of the piece have been lost in the past few years, I can still remember being extremely proud of what I had written. So for this project, I’m going to try and recreate the poem from the few details I do remember. 

The One Beneath the Window

I hear you outside,

You outside my window,

Silly thing.

I hear you shuffle your feet,

Back and forth under my pane.

I hear your words,

Trying to slip between the cracks

And pry open the window.

Your are words calm

And steady.

You have much patience,

But you’ve been here before,

Every morn leaving,

Weary and hollow.

Your words grow louder

With my every denial.

Your pleading flattery falters a little more

With every nay from my mouth.

The veil of kindness

Is dissolved from your mind

By the acidic rage now overcoming it.

Once words so sweet

With only a hint of desire,

Used to trickle through

The faults of my pane.

Now they bombard the window

Giving up

On lulling the lock

Into submission

And gunning straight for me.

You thought it best to change my mind once,

But your patience has worn away, 

Your manners out of commission.

An animal hunger envelopes

Any humanity left in your bones.

The window still stands

Between you and I.

It’s once minor splits,

Now canyons, turning the world

Behind it into a reflection

In a muddled lake. 

One wisp of a breeze

And I will no longer have a choice.

Canyons will erupt and

You will devour me.

I only have one choice left,

Blow a kiss

And welcome you in.

My name is Brianna Perrin and I am a senior at Science Leadership Academy. For my capstone I decided to create a PSA and documentary about teenage issues. Topics that I went over were depression, self-harm, suicide, homosexuality, sexual harassment, etc. How my capstone addresses the SLA core values is by learning how to test them in different areas to see the outcome. Of course the outcome wasn't always positive but I was able to understand people's views and opinions by using them. Another thing that I did for my capstone was have mini projects throughout the year. Some mini projects were the NOH8 Photo shoot, Teens For Jeans Drive, Blood Drive, etc. Having these mini projects helped address SLA core values while also having the school be involved in different things and be more aware of topics that are heavily discussed in the world.

2:37. Dir. Murali K. Thalluri. Perf. Teresa Palmer and Frank Sweet. 2006. DVD.

This film has multiple features - lighting, acting, film angles, etc. that I find helpful for my project. This is another teen movie but it still allows myself and other people to see what it is like for a teenager put into situations and how they deal with them.

ABC Family. Dir. Charles Binamé. Perf. Emily Osment and Kay Panabaker. ABC Family. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.

This is another film has helped with different film aspects that I might want to use. Also this movie can give ideas and more insight to how I want to portray my movie.

Crook, Marion. Please, Listen to Me!: Your Guide to Understanding Teenagers & Suicide. North Vancouver, B.C.: Self-Counsel, 1992. Print.

This book is helpful because it allows me to get from personal teenagers how they got help from someone from either telling them or someone found them. Having this aspect will allow me to get across in my movie that getting help is hard for teenagers especially if people don’t see the red flags from the beginning.

"Cutting - From the Teenager's Perspective _____________________________________________________*." Cutting - From the Teenager's Perspective _____________________________________________________*. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.

This book is helpful because it again allows me to get insight from different teenagers about what cutting is, what it does to them and how it started. Having more stories to be able to tell helps it be more relatable instead of just using my story.

Danquah, Meri Nana-Ama. Shaking the Tree: A Collection of New Fiction and Memoir by Black Women. New York: W.W. Norton, 2003. Print.

This book is helpful because it is a book of monologues by African American women who have gone through depression and other areas. The monologues talk about their problems, how they get help, having someone try to give them an intervention, etc. This helps with writing my own monologues for when I talk about myself.

Hayman, James. The Cutting. New York: Minotaur, 2009. Print.

This source is useful because it is focused on different characters dealing with different things in their lives. This focuses on a few characters that deal with cutting which is a form of self mutilation/self harm.

Levenkron, Steven. Cutting: Understanding and Overcoming Self-mutilation. New York: W.W. Norton, 1998. Print.

This source I found useful because it is giving people a further insight into what self-mutilation it and how to overcome it. This is helpful to people who are actually self-mutilating but I found it also useful for people who found out that someone they care about self-mutilates. It helps them understand what it is, why someone might do it and resources that they can use or get to help that person.

Marcovitz, Hal. Teens and Suicide. Philadelphia: Mason Crest, 2004. Print.

This source is useful because it talks about teens and suicide rates that continue to rise. It has statistics, stories and more resources to further understand and learn why the rates are increasing.

Marone, Nicky. How to Mother a Successful Daughter: A Practical Guide to Empowering Girls from Birth to Eighteen. New York: Harmony, 1998. Print.

I chose this source because I found self help books interesting but particularly this one. A majority of teenagers get depressed because of the high standards and the pressure that they feel their parents put on them. Have this as a source gives me insight to how a mother wants to raise their daughter and the expectations they have for them.

Martin, Michael. Teen Depression. Detroit: Thomson/Gale, 2005. Print.

This source is basically self explanatory. This goes more into the topic of teenage depression and still having good statistics. It also explains the different stages of depression and how if the teenager does not get help for their depression how it can further to worse stuff. This includes an eating disorder, suicidal thoughts and self mutilation.

"National Self Harm Network - Home." National Self Harm Network - Home. National Self Harm Network, n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.

This source is good because this is a national website that many people might turn to for multiple things. They can help people in how to get to help to clinics to how to help someone who does self harm themselves. It is also a great source for statistics.

"Replace The Blade." Webs. Connie, n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.

This source is important because it goes into different support systems for people who self-harm. It is not specified for a specific age group but just overall talking and explaining the cons of self-harming and why it is better to get help and put the blade down.

Roleff, Tamara L. Teen Suicide. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 2000. Print.

This source is important because it is a book focused on teen suicide. It also does into depth about the different ways teens commit suicide and the objectives that might lead them to consider or commit suicide.

Sheahan, Gwenneth, and Soren Dayton. "Secret Shame (self-injury Information and Support)."

Secret Shame (self-injury Information and Support). N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.

This source is helpful because it goes more into depth about different types of self-injury and how people resort to the different types. It also gives insight to the support that each of the different types has.

"To Write Love on Her Arms Vision." To Write Love on Her Arms Vision. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.

What is your universe obligation?

My universe obligation is built the way it is because throughout my whole life I was told to always put God  first so that's what I do. Next would be family because family is very important to me and I would die for them if it's called for. I also stated that close friends are apart of my universe obligation. And last is animals because I love to help animals that have been abuse.

I wish could… 

I wish I could be over 21 because I would be able to do whatever I want. I wish I could be in the Bad Girls Club because when I match it on tv it seems so much fun. I wish I could be an accountant because I would make a lot of money. I wish I had tattoos. I wish I could fall in love. I wish I cared. I wish I people will notice me. I wish I could be a singer instead of being so shy. I wish I could be smarter. I wish I could be pretty.