For my capstone, I painted a collaborative mural that allowed all students interested in participating to add their own unique touches and a lasting impact on SLA. Over the course of one week, I began painting this mural and had countless SLA students add their own additions and flowers to it. I began the entire process by hosting a “Plant and Paint” event with a few fellow students. Coming from an environment that hindered my growth and happiness, I came to SLA in search of an environment that not only challenged me but supported me even when school was extremely demanding. My mural is a perfect example of what it means to change your environment when it doesn’t allow for your own personal growth. I was able to create another space that supported students despite the academic demands of being an SLA student. I learned a lot about the positive effects greenery and just seeing flowers have on one’s mental health as well as the many negative and dangerous effects school can have on a teen’s mental health. I also learned more hands-on skills, like how much longer it takes to paint a mural than expected, as well as how to create large stenciling, even with limited materials. Overall, I am very proud of how my capstone turned out and can’t wait for future generations of students to benefit from the bright energy it brings to the outdoor terrace space.

The novel, “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy; is a story of a father and son navigating through this post-apocalyptic world having solely one another. The constant danger of the unknown causes the father to keep moving, not allowing them to stay in one place for too long. Despite the boy constantly asking to enjoy the few blessings they had come across, the father was constantly quick to say, “We can’t stay, he said… It’s not safe… We have to keep moving.” (McCarthy 42). This repetition of this phrase occurs multiple times throughout the novel. The sensation the reader gets while reading these phrases is that it is always rushed. Each drawing around the road represents an event that occurs in the novel and leads the man to tell the boy to “keep going” and go back on the road. The road is the only consistent element throughout the novel. The man is continuously rushing the boy to go back on the road. His constant fear of the unknown pushes them to continue their journey on the road. That is also why we chose to draw the road in a circle-like shape, to represent the cycle of the man and boy going back on the road. This cycle of pushing forward despite knowing the ignorance of youth is being stolen from the boy each day, hoping to see him grow and carry on the fire. Striving to keep a good moral compass in a world where morality is thrown out the window and dehumanization is the new norm.

Quotes that correlate with each drawing:

Waterfall: “We can’t stay, he said… It’s not safe… We have to keep moving. We have to keep heading south” (McCarthy 42).

The burnt man in the road: “They went on. The boy was crying he kept looking back… ‘We have no way to help him… The boy stood looking down. He nodded his head. Then they went on and he didn’t look back again” (McCarthy 50).

Fallen trees in the snow: “We have to go, head. We can’t stay here’ The boy stared bleakly at the gray drifts. Come on. They made their way out to the fence” (McCarthy 98).

Man w/o legs in the basement: “For the love of god will you come on, he hissed. He grabbed the boy by the hand. Christ, he said. Run. Run. (McCarthy 111).

Bunker: “How long can we stay here Papa? Not long. How long is that? I don’t know. Maybe one more day. Two. Because it’s dangerous” (McCarthy 139).

Old man, they gave fruit: “We can’t stay here. We have to go. He’s scared Papa. I don’t think you should touch him” (McCarthy163). “We can’t stay here. We have to go”(McCarthy 163).

Song #1: Keep Moving: Jungle

In chapter 18 of The Handmaid’s Tale Offred, the main character begins describing a series of events that she believes happened to her former husband, Luke. She specifically explains, “The message will say that I must have patience: sooner or later he will get me out…It’s this message, that may never arrive, that keeps me alive. I believe in this message”(Atwood 106). Offred describes this message as her own form of hope and motivation. Which almost directly connects with the song, “Keep Moving” by Jungle. In “Keep Moving” Jungle talks about their motivation to continue on as well, “I’ll be running with you, If I can’t understand it, I’ll find another way, Keep moving, keep moving… thanks for making me stronger” (Jungle). Both pieces mention what it means to have an outsider motivator, someone giving you that boost to “Keep Moving” in even those most difficult situations. Offred uses Luke as a motivator until she is able to escape this totalitarian regime.

Song #2: Free room: Ravyn Lenae(Appleby)

In chapter 9, of Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale, readers are given flashbacks to the main character, Offred’s past life. Atwood tells us about her former family and what it was like growing up for Offred in the past world. “My name isn’t Offred, I have another name… I tell myself it doesn’t matter, your name is like your telephone number, useful only to others; but what I tell myself is wrong, it does matter”(Atwood 84). Similarly, the song “Free Room” by Ravyn Lenae and Appleby talks about not knowing someone you once knew very well. Her chorus being, “You don’t know me anymore, the eyes, you’d think you’d shake your thighs, In a room full of fallen hope and tainted skies…The things in me you thought you knew, I don’t know you, There’s zero judgment, There’s a free room”(Ravyn Lenae & Appleby). As the text switches between the present day and Offred’s past readers realize how much Offred has changed and been conditioned to think, behave, and act a specific way. So much so that she doesn’t even recongnize herself after being indoctrinated into this society, so she holds onto the small memories she has like her real name and memories of her mother and daughter.

Song #3: Broken: Little Simz

In chapter 22 of The Handmaid’s Tale, it is revealed to readers the truth of Moira’s disappearance. Moira stopped one of the Aunts and used her clothing to escape from the center they were all being held in. Moira became a sense of hope for Offred and all the other girls, even if it was one they were terrified of. “Moira had power now, she’d been set loose, she’d set herself loose. She was now a loose woman. I think we found this frightening” (Atwood 133). Moira was someone who had escaped, she was meant to be freed from this unjust, horrible society. In the song “Broken” by Little Simz she talks about what it means to feel broken without any way to fix yourself and her healing journey. She says, “You exist, you alive you are deservin’ of life, you are a beacon of light, you are determined to fly, you have a journal inside, you have the power to write…” (Little Simz). The impact of her escape on the other girls in the center is definitely downplayed throughout this chapter. Moira put that idea of freedom, true escape, and reminded the other girls what could be if they all stood up against this imprisonment disguised as a better way of life.

Song #4: I want you: Marvin Gaye

In Chapter 23, readers see an awkward, illegal interaction between the commander and Offred. They meet secretly in his office for a game of Scrabble. After exchanging words with one another the commander says, “I want you [Offred] to kiss me” (Atwood 139). After kissing the Commander he says to Offred, “Not like that… As if you meant it” (Atwood 140). The commander is showing his vulnerability to Offred. He wants something intimate, something real. In Marvin Gaye’s “I Want You” he says, “I want you… the right way… I want you to want me… just like I want you…”(Marvin Gaye). Both Marvin and the Commander are expressing their need for true intimacy, for a real moment between two people. In this dystopian society as well as in the current Times, the want for a genuine connection with someone.

Song #5: Little Things: Jorja Smith

In chapter 17 of “The Handmaid’s Tale” Margret Atwood describes a vital moment that Offred has with her truth and desires. Offred after contemplating what power she holds in her own life, explains that she wants to steal something, a way of gaining that control back. While Offred leaves her room to steal she ends up sharing an extremely intimate moment with Nick, the commander’s driver. In the song, “Little Things” by Jorja Smith she says, “Can I get close, Even for one second, It’s the little things that get me high, won’t you come with me and spend the night”(Jorja Smith). Both Atwood and Smith explain the need and want for small points of power. The feeling of being “High” from spending time with someone, in Offred’s case, Nick. These small moments give Offred a greater sense of control in her uncontrollable life.