This is an activity blog!
This blog contains a form of activity the whole class can take part in. If interested, please scroll to the bottom of the blog for the resources required and for the description of the activity!
Recently, dating back to a month or so ago, I’ve been drawing in a journal using only pencils and some charcoal here and there. However, I only ever drew on the left side of the journal whenever I had a spontaneous idea to draw something. Usually, I’ll have more visual art tendencies rather than a writer’s tendency.
Then something occurred to me.
I applied to both disciplines at the beginning of the school year and had got accepted into both but could only choose one, so I went with my first passion, literary. I love literary with all my heart; it’s always been a part of me and a part of my life but sometimes the literary brain needs something more, that’s where the journal came in handy.
Thinking about how the right side of the book had always been empty and dry whenever my drawings on the left were completed (and too tired most the time to draw another image on the right.) I decided one day to fill the right side of the book to be a form of writing that contributes to the drawing on the left, and then suddenly I had a new piece and a visual representation.
This idea has been with me for a long time now. It’s not every day I draw or write in the journal. I treat the journal as a collection of poems and small flash descriptions of what I have drawn or what I felt in the moment. I’ve also gotten many new ideas just from revisiting old drawings and poems I’ve written.
Some poems I have written have returned and have been added to my journal and instead of drawing first I entered the literature first and drew the visual representation last.
If you’re not much of an artist in the visual department, you don’t have to draw. Photography is another great utility for a writer. Almost anything can be pulled from a moment in a photograph, hidden feelings, secret messages, colors, and so on! (I also think photography would be a great idea for our class to practice as well. It’s a type of literary art and builds skill with having to use a camera and your surroundings to your advantage as a writer. This would be enjoyable for the Media discipline also)
Or you could just simply journal. <3
I think this is a healthy idea for our class and can be repeated throughout your life as a writer to log ideas and pieces in a creative way and to your aesthetic:
For example, a few fellow bloggers who I follow along with have very unique aesthetics and it perfectly fits their character and personality:
Sarah: Ladybugs, Love, kid cartoons
Nick: Westerns, Ghosts, Trans
Robin: Music, Theatre, friendships
Jaleigha: Red and Blue foods, Stitch.
Danny: Mythologies, Astronomy, Trans
So on, so forth!
At the start of the next school year, I would like to share some of the works I have done within the journal that will have hopefully be completed. You do not need a specific genre, or anything attached to the journals contents unless you want there to be one. This is all you! Your creativity and your ideas.
Activity:
Due to the fast-approaching conclusion of the junior year at Mississippi School of the Arts, I thought it would be a good idea for everyone who will be attending next school year to do something like a writer's journal. It's like Morning Pages, suggested from "The Artist Way" by Julia Cameron, but in my eyes a lot more engaging, fun and gives you a lot more time.
Resources needed:
. A journal, notebook, sketchbook, or pieces of paper in a binder.
. Pencil, Pens, or other visual art utilities you'd like to use.
. Camera/phone, for pictures if you want them.
ALERT/NOTICE: These are your journals; you do not have to partake in sharing anything you have written over summer break if you are not comfortable. If you would like to show you at least participated in the activity: simply place your thumb gently at the edge of the pages and pull back, the pages should flip rapidly. You DO NOT have to complete the journal it can be just a few pages.
Fill the journal with whatever comes to mind. If you plan to continue and make a series of journals, I highly suggest numbering journals in volume form with the date the year you began and the date year you ended with.
If you think the journal needs such; Give it a title! Hell, slap some stickers on it, doodle in the corners, enjoy the process! Make it yours and something to reflect on when you grow as a writer and who you are and what you wish to accomplish in life!
Tip: It also gives you topics and ideas to blog about next year!
At the beginning of the year Brookhaven held a festival, which they do every year. It was just something to do. They had venders that lined the parking lots and streets by the railroad park. They had live music, some of our vocals even participated. That was the first weekend I stayed. I went to the festival with my dear friend Sarah House and we had a really fun time. They even played “Upside Down” by Jack Johnson, a mutual favorite song of ours. We hung out with a few of our other friends as well throughout the weekend. I ordered doordash for the first time as well and we participated in craft night which was fun. We made bracelets and painted random pictures. It was fun. It was my favorite weekend this year I believe. 
