My Life On Earth Project
Stop Being Killed
Scarlett Moore
His sandy hair and blue eyes,
Caught my gaze from the beginning.
“It’s over, she's everything you're not.”
All of the sudden,
The hand held pencil sharpener in my 6th grade science class began to taunt me.
I snuck it into my sleeve
Learning to dismantle it in the bathroom stall.
The words next to me reading
“You’re ugly”
“You’re fat”
“You suck”
The words that cut so deep until the blood started to pool.
“What happened to you?”
Lie, lie, lie.
This life is so small, no relevance to the universe,
That's all there is.
Such a concept for a 10 year old.
When I started to hate my face,
Drop me off at CVS, I’ll walk home.
Sneaking the concealer and mascara into my pocket,
The sudden rush took control.
I caked the make up on until I didn’t recognize myself.
“Where did you get all of that?”
Lie, lie, lie.
Fix myself till they like me,
That's all there is.
Such a concept for an 11 year old.
Sitting on the swing set
With the friends I thought would be in my life forever,
That sudden rush grew legs,
And lit a flame at my lips,
Emitting smog that filled those precious lungs with toxins for the first time.
“Where have you been?”
Lie, lie, lie.
Make yourself feel something,
That's all there is.
Such a concept for a 12 year old.
Parents out of town on a Saturday night,
Lets raid the cabinet above the fridge,
For that stuff dad always puts in his soda water.
Drink until I’m sick,
Again on Sunday,
Again on Tuesday,
Again on Thursday.
“Where is my stuff?”
Lie, lie, lie.
It’s all fun and games,
That's all there is.
Such a concept for a 13 year old.
The rush turned to a paper,
Of pretty colors and smiling faces.
On my tongue,
The walls start to sink in,
I can’t swim.
My concept of time is so little,
“Why haven’t you been home in days?”
Lie, lie, lie.
Moving fast, life is for the thrill,
That's all there is.
Such a concept for a 14 year old.
The paper turned to powder,
Under a dollar bill.
Scrape until it’s fine.
Vision is vivid,
I can’t see the floor,
Just one more,
Just one more.
Blackout.
“Where did my little girl go?”
Lie, lie, lie.
Living day by day,
That's all there is.
Such a concept for a 15 year old.
They never took me seriously,
I was 16,
And fully prepared to give up my life to something,
Who wanted my time to be cut so short.
Please,
Give me the time of day,
For I know the sun will last longer than I,
And the stars have already died,
But I know that’s not all there is,
Help me see that's not all there is,
Help me feel that's not all there is.
Please,
Help me navigate this illusory and eternal existence of mine,
Away from the sudden rush submerged in my consciousness.
Reflection
This project aims to make everyone question and think about the reason they're on earth. We read many passages about philosophy and what it means to be human and different perspectives of different peoples human experiences. It took a lot for me to figure out what I want to do but I wanted to try to do something little different than everyone else. I decided to take my own experience in my short time on earth and talk about the struggles I have faced and what some of the activities I have partook in have taught me. I aimed to make my project force people to look at the quick fixes they use on an everyday basis and think to themselves why we do the things we do to make ourselves feel good. I also look at what it means to take those quick fixes away and to let yourself feel something. I'm not really sure what inspired me I think I just took a big thing in my life that has been very prevalent the last few years and dissected why myself and others especially in this day in age choose to do these things.
New Insights
I have learned a to about myself and why I do the things I do. I think it's because I grew up in a society where all my problems could be fixed by the flip of a with or the consumption of medicine and its eye opening to see that everything in its own way can be a quick fix and addicting. There were a lot of texts we read throughout this unit that spoke to me but the poem in my art piece stood out to me because it talks about how you have to feel things in order to sucrose the true meaning of life and that's what society is trying to press against us, if you take these pills, if you smoke this cigarette, if you pick up this phone, all of your problems will vanish. And the poem says how your whole purpose here is to feel things and let yourself be swallowed up.
Further Questions and Intellectual Work Left to Do
I want to be able to apply these thing to my own life and revel against society wishes to remain numb. I want to see the world in true colors not in black and white. I want to live the life I'm meant to live and feel the things I'm supposed to feel without the distractions of modern day life.
Scarlett Moore
His sandy hair and blue eyes,
Caught my gaze from the beginning.
“It’s over, she's everything you're not.”
All of the sudden,
The hand held pencil sharpener in my 6th grade science class began to taunt me.
I snuck it into my sleeve
Learning to dismantle it in the bathroom stall.
The words next to me reading
“You’re ugly”
“You’re fat”
“You suck”
The words that cut so deep until the blood started to pool.
“What happened to you?”
Lie, lie, lie.
This life is so small, no relevance to the universe,
That's all there is.
Such a concept for a 10 year old.
When I started to hate my face,
Drop me off at CVS, I’ll walk home.
Sneaking the concealer and mascara into my pocket,
The sudden rush took control.
I caked the make up on until I didn’t recognize myself.
“Where did you get all of that?”
Lie, lie, lie.
Fix myself till they like me,
That's all there is.
Such a concept for an 11 year old.
Sitting on the swing set
With the friends I thought would be in my life forever,
That sudden rush grew legs,
And lit a flame at my lips,
Emitting smog that filled those precious lungs with toxins for the first time.
“Where have you been?”
Lie, lie, lie.
Make yourself feel something,
That's all there is.
Such a concept for a 12 year old.
Parents out of town on a Saturday night,
Lets raid the cabinet above the fridge,
For that stuff dad always puts in his soda water.
Drink until I’m sick,
Again on Sunday,
Again on Tuesday,
Again on Thursday.
“Where is my stuff?”
Lie, lie, lie.
It’s all fun and games,
That's all there is.
Such a concept for a 13 year old.
The rush turned to a paper,
Of pretty colors and smiling faces.
On my tongue,
The walls start to sink in,
I can’t swim.
My concept of time is so little,
“Why haven’t you been home in days?”
Lie, lie, lie.
Moving fast, life is for the thrill,
That's all there is.
Such a concept for a 14 year old.
The paper turned to powder,
Under a dollar bill.
Scrape until it’s fine.
Vision is vivid,
I can’t see the floor,
Just one more,
Just one more.
Blackout.
“Where did my little girl go?”
Lie, lie, lie.
Living day by day,
That's all there is.
Such a concept for a 15 year old.
They never took me seriously,
I was 16,
And fully prepared to give up my life to something,
Who wanted my time to be cut so short.
Please,
Give me the time of day,
For I know the sun will last longer than I,
And the stars have already died,
But I know that’s not all there is,
Help me see that's not all there is,
Help me feel that's not all there is.
Please,
Help me navigate this illusory and eternal existence of mine,
Away from the sudden rush submerged in my consciousness.
Reflection
This project aims to make everyone question and think about the reason they're on earth. We read many passages about philosophy and what it means to be human and different perspectives of different peoples human experiences. It took a lot for me to figure out what I want to do but I wanted to try to do something little different than everyone else. I decided to take my own experience in my short time on earth and talk about the struggles I have faced and what some of the activities I have partook in have taught me. I aimed to make my project force people to look at the quick fixes they use on an everyday basis and think to themselves why we do the things we do to make ourselves feel good. I also look at what it means to take those quick fixes away and to let yourself feel something. I'm not really sure what inspired me I think I just took a big thing in my life that has been very prevalent the last few years and dissected why myself and others especially in this day in age choose to do these things.
New Insights
I have learned a to about myself and why I do the things I do. I think it's because I grew up in a society where all my problems could be fixed by the flip of a with or the consumption of medicine and its eye opening to see that everything in its own way can be a quick fix and addicting. There were a lot of texts we read throughout this unit that spoke to me but the poem in my art piece stood out to me because it talks about how you have to feel things in order to sucrose the true meaning of life and that's what society is trying to press against us, if you take these pills, if you smoke this cigarette, if you pick up this phone, all of your problems will vanish. And the poem says how your whole purpose here is to feel things and let yourself be swallowed up.
Further Questions and Intellectual Work Left to Do
I want to be able to apply these thing to my own life and revel against society wishes to remain numb. I want to see the world in true colors not in black and white. I want to live the life I'm meant to live and feel the things I'm supposed to feel without the distractions of modern day life.
- How will you rebel against the fatigue of emotional norms set in this world?
- How can you help those around you to notice these underlying additions?
- How do you let yourself feel but not become a shell of a person due to cruelty?
- How do I live my best life?
Rhetoric and Ideology Project
My project was about the crack epidemic and wether the drug war was really about locking up criminals and getting drugs off the street or if it was just about locking up colored people. The message I wanted to convey was for people to question large events like this and to not always immediately believe what the government is telling you. Also that there is a lot more to the story of racism and racial prejudice in this country. I think after looking at both sides of the spectrum of this issue I still stand with my original ideology. I think I have discovered that as far as social issues in this country I fall on the left side of the isle. I already could've made this observation previous to this project but I made sure of it through all of this. I've learned that, when used correctly, it can make whole nations follow your cause and believe whatever you're telling them. If you look at my project, Nixon and his administration were able to make all of America believe what they wanted them to. Questioning everything and having the willingness to be disturbed is so crucial in a democratic society because if we all think the same way and believe everything were told all the time, well all be the same and how does a democratic society even function without differing opinions?