Phase 2 Work
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Sense of Self - Anna-Lisa Barrett
Creative Writing
Based on Alone not a-lone by Charmi Mehta
Artist Statement:
This reflection was influenced by Charmi Mehta’s artwork, Alone, not a-lone. As I read her artist statement, it brought me back in time to the beginning of the pandemic and when it started to take a toll on me. I understood the true meaning of being alone and not being able to embrace my own company, while being engulfed in this world of loneliness. The only way out of this was for me to take a step back and look into myself and learn the true meaning of what it’s like to love my own company, and love who I am as a person. This is why this reflection is called Sense of Self. I feel if it wasn’t for the pandemic, I wouldn’t have had the chance to become who I am today, someone who truly loves who she is.
Phase 1 Work
The Sense of Normality - Anna-Lisa Barrett
Creative Writing
Artist Statement:
This is the poem I created back in April of 2021 for my Creative Writing course. I wanted to write the last time I sensed the feeling of normality, and it was September of 2020, where there was some sort of glimmer of hope that this pandemic would come to an end. I went on a nice refreshing walk with a friend, unbeknownst to us that would be the last time we would physically see each other for the next six or seven months as we were put back into lockdown and online schooling once again. When I wrote this, I felt my heart race as I realized little moments like that shouldn't be taken for granted anymore. I noticed that times like that before the pandemic, I never took them seriously, I just saw it as another hang out or meet up. However, that specific time, I had to really see that this could become rare as the world around us keeps changing, and the unexpected could always appear once again.
Artist: Anna-Lisa Barrett
Program: Justice Studies
I am Anna-Lisa Barrett, and I am currently a fourth year student at the University of Guelph-Humber, obtaining my undergraduate degree in Justice Studies. As a child struggling with anxiety, writing was my coping mechanism, and still is to this day.
Since I was a child, creating characters as imaginary friends would end up being beneficial. “Your head is always in the clouds.” I would constantly hear since I was three years old. When I was a child, everyone found it so adorable that I would have imaginary friends which as an only child was normal.
However, I was creating characters that I would end up writing about later on in life. In hindsight, my imagination never shrunk, nor did it ever go away. It became bigger and I now use it to my advantage, by putting my own world on paper.
My favourite genres to write about are Coming of Age stories, as well as Fantasy. It gives such a huge sense of nostalgia and intensity, specifically to the targeted audience.
However, joining this project is very exciting as in a way I’ll be tackling a more personal approach to my writing which is new to me, but I’m willing to take the challenge.
